Tomorrow's Romance Dawn
by X-Chick303
Summary: The Straw Hats have left Drum, ready to take on Baroque Works in Alabasta. However, upon making a pit stop at a fog-covered 'mystery island', they come across something they never expected to find, even on the Grand Line: an older version of Zoro! Now they must locate the rest of the future Straw Hats, as well as keep an ancient treasure out of the hands of sadistic bounty hunters.
1. Prologue: Kāla

**I have got to stop starting up stories whenever I get bitten by a plot bunny. I probably won't update this one too often. I don't have much of a plot in mind yet, but I know where I want it go. So I guess we'll wait and see. I'll probably switch off updating on this and updating my other One Piece story, _Once Burned_.**

**This takes place before Punk Hazard... and also before Alabasta.**

**How is this possible? read and find out!**

* * *

Dipping her pen into her inkwell, she began to write.

_The ocean is a very strange place. And when your world happens to be, like, 92% ocean, and that 8% of land is mostly in the world's only continent, the levels of how strange it can get only increase._

_For example, legend tells of an island that exists in the New World, that also happens to exist in Paradise as well. How is that possible? Well, no one's really all that sure. I_ live_ there and I'm not sure. In the words of a certain rubber pirate captain, it's best described as a "mystery island."_

_Besides existing anywhere it wants, it can exist in other aspects as well. For the sake of spoilers, that won't be elaborated on just yet._

_And pertaining to this island, what would happen if the same pirate crew arrived at this island at two different times?_

_Hmph. I sure didn't know what would happen. But I'm happy to say I was there for the experience. I will never forget the new friends I made that day... past, or future._

* * *

**Time: Undetermined  
Location: Kāla**

Nighttime on Kāla was always disconcerting. The moon never stayed the same phase for more than a night, and the constellations were constantly changing their position. But if you lived there as long as Siobhan had, you got used it. After awhile, she had come to love these disconcerting nights.

Tonight, however, was not one of those nights.

"Tell me if it's true, kid," the large man in front of her seemed to sneer and smirk at the same time. "Is this truly the lost island of Kāla?"

Siobhan looked around her cage. "Was the cage really necessary?"

"Shut up!" the man bellowed, waving his torch close to her face. "You are no position to ask questions, so therefore, I will not answer you!... And considering you bit me five times before my team got you away from me, yes, the cage is necessary."

"Boss!" the mohawk lady snapped. "You did the exact opposite of what you said you were going to do again!"

"Be quiet, Erity! I know what I'm doing!" the boss snapped right back. He turned back to Siobhan. "Listen girl, we're not going to hurt you. We just need you to cooperate with us until we meet our goal. After which we'll probably kill you."

Erity smacked him upside the head. "You did it again!"

Siobhan blew her bangs out of her face. She could not believe she let herself get captured by this moron. And that day had been going so well too. When two ships had gotten caught in the Fog, she had been excitedly anticipating new visitors. How did it go so wrong?

"Sorry about our boss," the man with red eyes said, kneeling down to her eye level. "He's actually not this stupid. He's just a little excited. He's been searching for this legendary island for a long time."

"It's true," a girl in goth lolita clothing added. "We had to put up with him talking about it when he hired us."

"Yari, that's just mean," the boss scolded. He sighed. "Just answer me. Is this island's name 'Kāla?'"

Siobhan scowled. She didn't like these people, but she would not deny the name of this island.

"Yes," she muttered. "This is Kāla Island."

The boss grinned. "Finally, after all these years the treasure of Kāla will be mine. The World Government will bow their heads in gratitude, and I will no longer hear my name laughed at amongst Marine ranks!"

Siobhan raised an eyebrow. World Government? Marines? Some of her past visitors mentioned these things, but they never really went into details.

"Someone has _issues_," a man with a slightly feral appearance snickered.

"Runo!" Boss (as no one had said his name yet, Siobhan decided to call him that in her head) barked. "Erity, Yari, Vaughan! Gather up the men and start searching the island! We will find the treasure, no matter what the cost!"

"Why do _we_ have to search?" Erity whined. "Can't we just ask the kid?"

They all looked at Siobhan, who was whistling innocently in her cage.

"Want me to... convince her?" Runo said with a grin. "She looks weak, but she could easily join the ranks of my new toys."

Siobhan snarled. "Those people are not toys, you sicko! Let them go!"

Runo shrugged. "Maybe I will... if you tell us where we can find what we're searching for."

Siobhan looked away.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Runo turned to Boss. "Well, should I?"

"It wouldn't do any good," Vaughan answered before Boss could. "You were off collecting your 'toys' when Erity and I faced her. Your Devil Fruit abilities won't have any more of an effect on her than mine did."

Yari gave Siobhan a creepy smile. "Aren't you an interesting little girl? Tell me, would like to be one of my new dolls?"

Siobhan stuck out her tongue and pulled down one eyelid. That was as good a response as any.

"Enough!" Boss hollered. "This girl is useless in many aspects, but we need her in order to find our treasure."

"You do realize you're not going to get away this, right 'Boss?'" Siobhan said in a bland tone. "Better than you have attempted to steal this island's treasure."

"I think I have a pretty good chance," Boss said. "Don't underestimate me, brat."

"While I think you're a moron, I don't doubt your skills," Siobhan clarified. "You're going to fail because others are coming."

Boss's eyes narrowed. "Others?"

"Yes, others. They will arrive at the island after the next daybreak." She closed her eyes. "I can sense them, like I was able sense you and the other people that arrived here today."

"Do you know who it is?" Erity asked curiously.

"Oh, just more of the same," Siobhan replied vaguely. "The same, but also different."

The group looked confused, except the red-eyed man, Vaughan. A slow smile spread across his lips.

"It's like that, is it?" Vaughan asked. "This is going to be fun."

Siobhan looked away, instead focusing her attention on Runo's 'toys,' who were standing off to the side, absolutely still.

_I don't know about fun, but things will be getting interesting around here_, she thought. _It will all begin when the others arrive..._

* * *

**Next Time:**

"What the-!" Chopper gasped.

"It couldn't be!" Sanji shouted.

Vivi's eyes widened. "How is this possible?!"

There were a few minor differences, but there was no mistaking it. They were looking into the unconscious face of Roronoa Zoro.


	2. Arrival at the Mystery Island

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Only my OCs are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Arrival at the Mystery Island**

* * *

**Time: 22 Years ARD (After Roger's Death)  
Location: Somewhere in the Grand Line, between Drum Island and Alabasta**

"Well, it's safe to say the Kestia's virus is officially out of your system, Nami!" Chopper said, putting away his tools. "You are 100% disease free!"

"That's a relief," Nami said, getting off Chopper's 'examination table' (it was actually a table made of old crates. They would get a proper one later). "Thanks Chopper, you're a great doctor."

"S-shut up!" the little doctor stammered, wiggling happily. "I didn't do anything, it was Doctorine's medicine that cured you! I just helped you through the final stages of your recovery! Don't think complimenting me will make me happy, moron!"

_You look happy to me,_ Nami thought with a sweatdrop. Oh well. She supposed this would just be one quirk about the crew's new doctor that she would have to get used to.

Stretching her arms, Nami left the 'sick bay' (actually just a spare room on the ship they decided to give to Chopper) with the little doctor in tow. They had left Drum Island only two days earlier. They still had a few more days before they arrived in Alabasta, so Nami wanted to be sure she was completely healthy now. She couldn't help Vivi if she was still sick, now could she?

Nami opened the door leading out to the main deck. "Guess what, everyone! Your navigator is now a hundred percent healthy!"

"That's wonderful, Nami!" Vivi said, clapping her hands together. She was sitting at the deck table, and Sanji had been setting down her morning drink.

"Nami-swaaaan~!" Sanji sang, mellorine-ing his way over to her. "I'm so happy you've returned to complete health! I hope we never have to go through such a trial ever again!"

"Sanji, stop dancing around!" Chopper scolded him. "Your back is still healing! You need to take it easy!"

The scolding would have a much stronger effect if Chopper hadn't been hiding the wrong way behind the mast while saying it.

"... Isn't that backwards?" Sanji commented.

Chopper's eyes widened a little, and he corrected himself so that just his eye was visible.

"Better, but I can still see you."

Nami and Vivi shared a glance. It looked like Chopper was still nervous around Sanji. Not surprising, considering the chef had wanted to turn him into venison stew.

"Nami's completely better?" Luffy piped up. He was currently riding around the deck on top of Carue, playing a version of tag with Usopp. "Yosh! Then let's set course for Alabasta!"

"Quaawww!" Carue added.

"We're _already_ on course for Alabasta, you dummy," Usopp reminded him. "And I don't see why you're so excited. Have you forgotten that a warlord is after us?"

"Yeah, I know!" Luffy said eagerly. "I can't wait to see how strong he is."

"_You_ may have a death wish, but I want live as long as physically possible. I'm only going to help Vivi stop the revolution, that's it. I'll leave all the crazy fighting to monsters like you and Zoro."

"Really? Thanks, Usopp!"

"Usopp, you don't have to worry about Crocodile," Nami huffed. "He doesn't know what you, Sanji, or Chopper look like."

"In fact, the crew doesn't have to worry about him period," Sanji added. "Thanks to my efforts on Little Garden, the Straw Hat Pirates are dead as far as Crocodile's concerned."

"Yeah, that'll last," a voice scoffed from the crow's nest.

"SHUT UP, MOSSHEAD!"

"I'm afraid Mr. Bushido's right, Sanji," Vivi said before the fight could take off. "Mr. 0 didn't get this powerful by being a fool. It's only a matter of time before he figures out we're still alive."

A bitter truth, but one the crew would have to accept. Underestimating a warlord was never a good idea if you planned to live a long life. After all, Zoro did just that and nearly got cut in half for his foolishness.

Chopper looked at his new crewmates, confused. "What do you all mean? What's a crocodile have to do with anything? Who's Mr. 0?"

It was then they realized they had yet to inform Chopper that the ship he joined held four people with hits out on them. Luffy had had to constantly badger him to get him to fulfill his dream of being a pirate, and they didn't want to scare the little reindeer so early on his journey.

"Uh, Tony... well, you see..." Vivi began.

"Oi, Nami!" Zoro shouted down from the crow's nest, thankfully saving the princess from an awkward explanation.

"What is it, Zoro?" Nami called back.

"You said we're not supposed to be reaching Alabasta for several more days, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why do you ask?"

"Then what's that big island-shaped blotch in the distance off the port side?"

Nami's eyes widened, and she immediately ran for the port side of the Merry, grabbing the telescope Usopp held out as she ran past him. Once there, she peered through the eyeglass and sure enough, there was an island-shaped blotch in the distance. With the telescope, she could see that it was more than just a blotch, but an actual island, covered in fog.

"That... that island wasn't there before," Nami stammered. She turned to Vivi. "Vivi, are there supposed to any islands in this part of the Grand Line?"

Vivi shook her head. "I came by this way when I left Alabasta the first time. It's supposed to be just open sea."

"Then where did that island come from?" Zoro asked, having jumped down from the crow's nest.

"How the heck should I know?! Islands don't just appear out of nowhere!" Nami checked her wrist log pose. "The log isn't even pointing at it!"

"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed. "A mystery island! Nami, let's go explore it!"

"No way, Luffy!" Usopp argued. "We don't know what's on that island! It's unnatural! For all we know it could be haunted!"

"A haunted island?" Chopper echoed, having forgotten about his previous questions. "I didn't know there were islands that were haunted! What are those like Usopp?"

Usopp demeanor instantly morphed from a cowardly one to a cocky one. "They are islands where ghosts rule and the living dead walk free. I remember having conquered an entire chain of haunted islands, back when I was only five years old..."

"WOW, REALLY?" Chopper and Luffy gasped in awe.

"If you conquered a chain of haunted islands when you were five, then why are you so scared to go to one as a..." Nami began. She paused. "... Uh, how old are you?"

"ARE YOU SAYING WE'VE BEEN TRAVELING TOGETHER FOR THIS LONG AND YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO LEARN MY AGE?!" The sniper hollered.

"Considering everything that has been happening to us ever since we joined the crew, it never really came up," she admitted.

"I'm seventeen!" Usopp hollered.

"So am I!" Luffy added.

"I'm nineteen, if anyone's curious," Sanji spoke up.

"I'm eighteen," Nami sighed.

"I'm sixteen," Vivi said.

"I'm pretty sure I'm fifteen," Chopper said.

Carue quacked his response, but no one was really paying attention to him. Everyone was looking at Zoro.

"What?" the swordsman asked.

"Everyone else said how old they are," Luffy explained. "Now it's your turn."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "If it's that important to you, I'm nineteen years old, just like the love cook."

"Seriously?!" Vivi said in shock. "I thought you were older than that!"

"How old did you think I was?"

"I thought you were twenty five, at least!"

"Twenty_ five_?!"

"Zoro _does_ have an older-looking face," Nami noted.

"Shut up, woman!" Zoro snapped.

"Wait, you're the same age as me?" Sanji asked. "When's your birthday?"

"Didn't know you cared, Cook."

"Just answer the question, Mosshead!"

"November 11th."

A smirk spread across the cook's face. "Mine is March 2nd."

The crew's jaws dropped. Zoro, the bulkier, taller, older-looking one of the two constant clashers, was actually the _younger_ one?

Zoro scowled. "Shut up."

Sanji's only continued to smirk. "Is that anyway to speak to your elders?"

"I said shut up, ero-cook!"

"Maybe I should have you start calling me Sanji-_sempai_."

"In your dreams, you curly freak!"

"What did you just call me?"

The girl's sweatdropped as another Sanji/Zoro fight began.

"Anything will get those two in argument, huh?" Vivi said with a sigh.

"I can only hope they'll grow out of it soon," Nami grumbled. "This is getting old."

Nami was so busy muttering, that she didn't notice Zoro had suddenly stopped his arguing and had walked to the rail.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sanji demanded.

Zoro didn't answer. He looked over the side of the boat, then at Nami. "Hey, Nami, did you alter our course at all?"

"Of course not," Nami replied.

Zoro frowned. "Then why have we suddenly picked up speed, and why are we suddenly sailing directly toward that mystery island?"

At his words, everyone's heads snapped towards the front of the Merry. They were now heading directly toward the mystery island, and said island was now very, very close.

_Oh no!_ Nami thought. _I was distracted by that stupid age discussion, and we've completely gone off course_! "Sanji, Chopper, take the helm! We need to make a 90 degree turn, now!"

Sanji gleefully agreed and ran into the galley, followed closely by- now in Heavy Point- Chopper. Nami tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the lurch of a ship making a sudden turn. It never came.

"Sanji, Chopper, what's taking so long?!" she hollered.

Chopper stuck his head out of the doorway. "We're pushing as hard as we can, but the rudder won't budge!"

"Push the rudder harder, then!"

"If we do that, it'll break!" came Sanji's voice from within the galley. "It's just like when were going up Reverse Mountain!"

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" Nami wailed. "How did we get stuck in a _super_ _current_?!"

"I did warn you about the unpredictability of the Grand Line," Vivi reminded.

Nami shot her a dirty look and Vivi decided it would be a good time to stay silent. She took a few steps back and took a seat next to Carue.

"Looks like we're going to the mystery island after all," Luffy said happily, sitting down on his 'special seat.' "Shishishi, this going to be so much fun!"

"Only you would call getting trapped in a freakishly strong current and being forced toward a haunted island 'fun,' Luffy," Usopp said darkly.

"You said that the living dead were on haunted islands, right?" the rubber captain asked. "Does that mean zombies?"

"Luffy, what are you thinking...?" Usopp asked worriedly.

"Well, think about what it would be like to have a zombie on the crew. That would be so awesome!"

"WE'RE NOT INVITING A MEMBER OF THE LIVING DEAD TO JOIN THIS CREW!" Nami screeched.

"But what if he also just happens to be... a _musicia_n," Luffy offered. "We still need one, after all."

"Fine Luffy," Zoro said, wanting to put this dumb conversation to an end. "If we find one of the undead who just_ happens_ to be a musician, we'll take him into consideration."

"Yosh! Thanks, Zoro!"

Sanji and Chopper, who was back in Brain Point, stepped back out onto the deck.

"Sorry Nami, I was unable to get the rudder to budge without running the risk of breaking it," Sanji apologized. "Looks like we're going to that island whether we want to or not."

"Dang it," Nami said through grit teeth. She turned to Vivi. "Sorry, Vivi. Look's like we're making a slight detour."

Vivi waved it off while stroking a nervous Carue's feathers. "It's alright. It's not like you can control the currents. But look on the bright side; maybe we'll be able to find some food supplies there."

"Great thinking, my beautiful Vivi!" Sanji swooned.

"Unless it's overrun by ghosts and zombies," Chopper said fearfully, hiding, once again the wrong way, behind the mast.

Nami made a mental note to smack Usopp later. He needed to find a filter for his stories.

"One haunted island is no match for the Great Captain Usopp!" Usopp declared, though his knees were knocking. "Bring it on!"

"I've never fought zombies before," Zoro commented. He grinned wickedly. "Sounds like it would be interesting."

It was settled. For better or worse, the Straw Hat Pirates would be visiting the mystery- and possibly haunted- island.

"We're about to enter the fog!" Luffy announced from the Merry's figurehead.

The Going Merry did just that, entering the thick fog surrounding the island. If an outsider had been watching, they would have seen the charming ship appear to be swallowed up by the fog, vanishing without so much as trace.

* * *

**Time: Undetermined**  
**Location: Kāla**

Siobhan picked at the small pile of fruit Erity had shoved through the bars of her cage that morning. Well, at least they weren't trying to starve her or anything.

"Now, if they would only let me out of this cage," she said to herself.

Erity, Yari, Runo, Boss, and their men were off looking for the treasure. They'd left Vaughan on 'babysitting' duty, and you didn't have to be a genius to see he wasn't entirely thrilled about it. Still, he was man enough to keep his emotions in check and was currently passing the time by cleaning his weapon.

"So, how long do you plan to stay here?" Siobhan asked conversationally.

"If you're attempting small talk, you're not doing a very good job of it," Vaughan replied, not even bothering to look up at her.

"Can you blame me? This cage is boring."

"Next time don't bite our boss five times."

Siobhan stuck out her lip in a pouty way. That jerk deserved to get bitten, and she had a feeling Vaughan agreed with her on the issue. He was just sticking to his role as the hired help by not forming any opinions.

All of sudden, Siobhan felt a chill run down her spine. She involuntarily gasped, causing Vaughan to look at her.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Siobhan shook off the chill and smiled. "Oh, nothing is wrong. Just a slight shiver down my spine. It's not anything you need to be concerned about."

Vaughan's expression said he sincerely doubted that, but he didn't question her further and returned to his work. Once his eyes were away from her, Siobhan stood up and gazed in the direction she knew the beach was in.

_The others have entered the Fog,_ she thought._ Now, let's see if we'll be having some of the 'fun' Blood Eyes was talking about_.

* * *

**Time: Undetermined  
Location: The Fog**

The Straw Hats stood on deck, letting the strong current guide their ship. One would suspect they would've been worried about all the thick fog around them, seeing as that meant they wouldn't be able to see any obstacles ahead of them or when they would crash against the shore.

Surprisingly, they weren't worried. They were focused on the fog, mind you, but in the way you would expect.

It wasn't normal fog. Normal fog was dark and gray. This fog was dark and gray as well, but within it, there were occasional bursts of color. Blues, green, and pinks swirled with the mist, lighting up the deck with each flash. It was a sight to behold.

"So cool," Luffy said in a breathy tone. "Rainbow fog!"

"It's beautiful," Vivi said.

"I consider myself something of a weather expert, and I've never seen fog like this," Nami noted.

Some of the fog near Usopp lit up, and, curious, he ran his hand through it.

"_-ALWAYS BEEN NEGATIVE!_"

"ARGHH!" Usopp squealed, stumbling backward.

"Usopp!" Chopper shouted, running to his crewmate's side. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"G-g-g-ghost!" Usopp stammered out. "I touched some of the lit up fog and heard the voice of a ghost!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Chopper and Luffy gasped.

"Is this another lie?" Sanji asked, lighting a cigarette. "If so, it's not funny."

"I'm serious!" Usopp insisted. "You try, if you don't believe me!"

There was no need, though. As they got deeper into the fog, the more frequent the bursts of color were. Soon, the colors enveloped the Going Merry entirely.

"Does any else hear... voices?" Zoro asked.

"We're all touching the colors now," Vivi pointed out. "If Usopp's correct..."

"This rainbow fog let's us hear ghosts?" Luffy asked. "That's amazing! I bet ghost's have some cool things to say! Let's listen!"

That suggestion was so unlike Luffy, the crew actually followed it. As the ship sailed further, the voices got louder but there were parts here and there they couldn't decipher. At first, the voices were condescending and grated on the crew's nerves.

"_...you're weak and you have no pride..._"

"_...except for your immunity to lightning, you're nothing more than a powerless..._"

"_...and let the desert sands bury you!_"

Sanji reacted to that last one. "I know that voice... that's the man I talked to on the transponder snail on Little Garden. That was Mr. 0."

"Crocodile's a ghost already?" Luffy said. He frowned. "That's just great. How can I fight him if he's a ghost?"

"I'm pretty sure Crocodile's not a ghost," Vivi said. "Guys, I don't think it's ghosts we're hearing."

The voices continued to become more loud and, well, vocal. But at least their tones were changing, even if they didn't make any sense.

"_...wouldn't let me die..._"

"._..I'm a romantic, just like...!_"

"_...what's the point of having power if..._"

"_...one hell of a roll this week..._"

"_...although I have no stomach..._"

"_...you promised that... even someone was shot before your eyes..._"

Nami gasped. "Hatchan?"

"Who's Hatchan?" Sanji asked.

"He was that octopus swordsman in Arlong's crew. Zoro beat him, I think."

"I remember him," Zoro nodded. "I'm pretty sure I didn't kill him, so we wouldn't be hearing his voice if these really are ghosts. Vivi's right, these voices are something else."

The voices intensified, and started to become more familiar.

"_...existing is not a crime..._"

"_...good boy! Laboon...!_"

"_...WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME WITH YOU...!_"

Vivi frowned. That voice sounded awfully familiar... but at the same time, incredibly sad.

"_...WHAT MAKES YOU GOD...?!_"

Luffy startled slightly. That was his voice.

"_...be a more reliable man...!_"

Chopper shivered. What was his voice...?

"_...idiot! Ask other people's opinions...!_"

"That sounded like me!" Nami shouted.

"_...born to love ladies, not be friends with...!_"

Sanji breathed hard on his cigarette. What was going on?

"_...THIS PLACE ISN'T HELL...!_"

Usopp couldn't help but think that couldn't have been his voice. It sounded brave.

"_...can't even protect my captain, then my ambition is..._"

Zoro gripped one of his sword's hilts. What was his voice saying about not protecting his captain?

This was wrong. Why were they hearing their own voices in the fog, saying things that didn't make sense? It was creepy and they wanted it to stop.

"_...worried about his bumbling kid brother..._" another voice broke in. It was a new one. The voice was warm, and sounded lighthearted as opposed to the previous serious tones they had been hearing. It was a pleasant switch, and stood out amongst all the other voices speaking.

Luffy's eyes widened. He knew that voice... what was it doing in the mystery fog?

"_...at the top, you and me...!_"

"Ace?" Luffy asked aloud. "What's his voice doing here?"

"Ace?" Zoro repeated. "Who's Ace?"

Luffy didn't answer. He kept listening.

"_...no right to interfere...!_"

"_...You never change..._"

"_...THIS ERA IS..._!"

"_...can't even let you save me..."_

Luffy frowned. Ace's tone had changed. It sounded strong, and yet... weak. A word he had never associated with his brother. It was almost as if... it sounded like Ace was giving up.

"_...it good I was born? All I wanted..._"

The Straw Hats were now all frowning. Save for Luffy, they didn't know who was speaking, but what kind of person asked if it was good they had been born?

Luffy was getting anxious. Just what was Ace's voice saying?

"_...so worthless... even though I carry the blood of a demon..._"

Luffy leaned forward on his special seat.

"_...thank you..._" the voice choked, as if he were on his last legs. "_...for-_"

The fog suddenly cleared, and all the voices immediately faded away. The sun shone brightly and the sky was a magnificent shade of blue. Not that the crew could appreciate it, due to their captain's yelling.

The moment the voices vanished, Luffy had jumped to his feet, narrowly avoiding stumbling off the Merry's figurehead. "Thank you for _what_?! Come on Ace, what were going to say?! Who were you thanking?! Ace! Answer me, damn it! ACE!"

"Luffy!" Sanji called out.

"WHAT?!" Luffy shouted back. His face looked a little scary.

Sanji flinched, before pointing ahead. "We've arrived."

Luffy turned and saw that the current had stopped pushing the ship, only a few feet in the water away from the island. Now that the fog was gone, he could see it clearly. It had a large beach with pink-colored sand, and big strange trees that looked like the jungle back on Dawn Island. The boy's face broke into a big grin.

"Whoa, pink sand? And look at the size of those trees!" Luffy exclaimed. He turned to his crew. "Hey Chopper, Usopp, let's see if we can climb one! I think I saw some coconuts on one of them, we could- what are you guys all staring at?"

The crew was staring in the opposite direction of the strange beach, towards the fog. Though they had literally just left it, the fog was at least a full kilometer away now.

"How'd it get so far away so quickly?!" Usopp said, incredulous. "We're were completely surrounded by it only a second ago!"

"With the mystery island, super current, colored fog, and disembodied voices that sound like us, nothing surprises me at this point," Nami groaned in defeat. "Let's just pack some supplies and leave before we all go completely insane."

"Yeah, let's find some meat!" Luffy agreed. "Meat on the mystery island!"

"Right away, Nami-swan!" Sanji added.

With that, they had Zoro lower the anchor and prepared to set foot on the mystery island. Luffy decided to slingshot himself across the stretch of water by stretching his arm ahead and getting a grip on of the thick trunks of the trees.

"Gum Gum..." Luffy began, stretching backward. "_Rocket!_"

He lifted his feet and went flying straight into the same tree he had been holding. Of course, being a rubberman, he barely even felt the impact. That left the others to either jump off the boat and onto the beach (Sanji and Zoro, with some glaring), wade through the water (Nami and Usopp, despite Sanji's offers to carry the former), or swim across while riding on Carue's back (Vivi and Chopper).

"I can't believe it," Chopper said excitedly. "My first new island as a pirate!"

Vivi smiled at him. "I'm glad to see you're excited, Tony. You've been pretty nervous these last couple days."

"I'm still getting used to leaving Drum, that's all," he replied as they arrived at the beach, and he and Vivi dismounted the large duck. "But I promise to do my best for the crew here!"

Vivi chuckled as they walked over to join the others. "I'm sure you will."

The beach was even more beautiful up close. The pink sand sparkled under the sunlight, before becoming thick green grass as it got into the jungle area. The trees were unnaturally large, and their leaves also seemed to glitter if the sunlight caught them just right.

Luffy ran around the beach, laughing loudly. "The sand here is pink! Shishishi, the mystery island has mystery sand!"

"That's great, Luffy," Usopp said. "Uh, Luffy? Can we ask you something really quick?"

Luffy stopped running. "Oh, sure. What do you need?"

"You were getting pretty upset back there with that last voice," Zoro pointed out.

"If you don't mind us asking, who's Ace?" Nami asked.

"Oh, is that all?" Luffy asked. "Ace is my big brother."

The quiet that followed was stifling. You could have heard a pin drop.

"BROTHER?!" the crew finally gasped after a few silent moments.

"Luffy has a _brother_?" Usopp shouted in shock.

"There's actually a living flesh and blood person _born before_ and _related_ to Luffy?" Nami added.

"Luffy's a monster already; just imagine what his_ big brother_ would be like!" Sanji realized.

"Sanji!" Vivi scolded.

"I wish _I_ had a brother," Chopper said softly.

"So that was your brother's voice we were hearing at the end?" Zoro asked, not nearly as shaken up as the others.

Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh, that was Ace. I haven't seen him since he left home to become a pirate, but I'd know his voice anywhere."

Zoro was slightly tempted to ask what his brother might have meant, talking about whether him being born was good or not, but decided against it. It wasn't any of his business and if Luffy felt like sharing, he would have already done so. "He's a pirate too?"

"Yeah. He left home three years before I did to look for the One Piece."

"If that was your brother's voice, then I can see why you were upset," Vivi said. "The things he was saying were very unnerving. You must be worried."

"Nah, Ace is strong," Luffy said, shaking his head. "I fought him all the time when we were kids and he always kicked my butt, even with my devil fruit powers. He can handle himself, and besides, that wasn't Ace. It was just something with his voice. That mystery fog was copying all of us, even Crocodile and that octopus guy."

While they were shocked that there was also now a flesh and blood person who could _defeat_ Luffy, they all considered what Luffy said about the fog. They hadn't imagined their own voices speaking within the fog, nor did they imagine Crocodile's. Had it all been one strange illusion though?

"Uh, I don't care anymore," Nami sighed at last. "Let's break off into groups to look for food. Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and I will remain here at the main beach to pick some of these coconuts. Sanji, Vivi, Carue, and Chopper, you all go a little deeper into the woods and look, but don't go too far. We still don't know what's out there."

"Aw, but I want to explore the forest!" Luffy whined.

"You're staying here!"

"I'll go with him if he wants to explore," Zoro offered.

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"

Vivi rolled her eyes but she was smiling, as if thinking 'there they go again.' She hopped on Carue, Chopper morphed into Walk Point, and Sanji ran to to the princess's side holding three large baskets. Then all three entered the jungle.

* * *

Though they stuck to Nami's advice and didn't go too far in, it was obvious navigating the thick expanse of trees was not going to be an easy time. There were almost no paths and the trees' roots all seemed to get tangled up in each other.

"I've never seen trees this big before," Vivi said. "They're even bigger than the ones on Little Garden."

"Wonder if this island has an incredibly ironic name too," Sanji said dryly.

That made Vivi giggle, and that in turn made Sanji elated.

"Little Garden?" Chopper asked, looking up at his two crew mates.

"Another story for another day, Tony," Vivi replied. "Let's focus on finding supplies. We need to leave this island as soon as possible."

Sanji gave Vivi a sympathetic look when she turned away. She wasn't happy about the detour, and that was understandable. Her country was on the brink of civil war and they had let their ship get caught in a freakishly forceful current. He knew Nami was already contemplating ways to make it up to her, and now so was he. Maybe she had a preferred meal she would want him to make...

"Hey, fruit trees!" Chopper announced.

Ahead of them were indeed multiple normal-sized fruit trees, each one bearing a different kind of fruit.

"Jackpot!" Sanji said. "Look at all this!"

Once Vivi dismounted Carue again and Chopper went into Brain Point, the three pirates jogged over to the trees with their baskets. There was an apple tree, an orange tree, a peach tree , a mango tree, and even a banana tree. Some fruits didn't even look like they were supposed to be growing in the same climate, but here they were.

"This is amazing," Vivi said, picking a peach. "And it's ripe too."

"They're all ripe," Chopper noticed. He was in Heavy Point into order to reach the fruit. "That's... a little strange."

"I know Grand Line islands usually have one dominant season, but is this normal?" Sanji asked.

Vivi shook her head. "Islands will have one dominant season, but they still technically have the others. Even so, this place feels like a spring or summer island. Most fruits don't get ripe until the fall."

"You're so knowledgeable, Vivi dear!" Sanji praised. "Though it seems to me somebody forgot to tell the fruit here that."

While the three pirates (or two pirates and one princess) were discussing the ripening cycles of Grand Line fruit, Carue was walking around, looking for fallen fruit. There were an odd number of leaves and branches on the ground, though the ones above were still green, so he prodded the jungle floor with his bill a few times to see if any fruits were hiding. It wasn't long before he had wandered away from the group entirely.

He wasn't too worried though. He could still hear the others' voices, so he would be able to find his way back. He might as well help his princess and look for other food sources or a stream for fresh water. He waddled along, looking up at the massive trees. Maybe one of these bigger ones had something to eat-

"Uhn."

Carue froze. Did the ground beneath his feet just _groan_? He slowly glanced down...

"_QUAAAAAAAAAW!_"

Vivi dropped her basket of fruit. "That sounded like Carue!"

Sanji glanced from side to side. "Dang it, where did that stupid duck go?"

"Carue isn't stupid!"

"I'm sorry Vivi, I didn't-"

"It came from over there!" Chopper said, pointing in the direction of Carue's squawks.

The trio abandoned their baskets and ran in the direction Chopper referred to. As the moved forward, Carue's quacking got louder and more frantic.

"What's he saying, Tony?" Vivi asked.

"He's too worked up, I can't make everything out!" Chopper replied. "But he's yelling about a person, and something about wounds!"

"You're kidding me," Sanji said. "There are people actually living here on this island?"

As they approached Carue's location, Sanji took notice of something. There was blood on the ground, trailing in the same direction they were going. He didn't like the looks of this.

They finally reached the spotted duck, who was pacing anxiously in front of someone lying face down on the ground. Whoever it was, there was pool of blood coming from his shoulder and head.

Vivi's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh no!"

"Blood!" Chopper shrieked. "A doctor, we need a doctor!"

"Tony, you're the doctor!"

"Oh, right!"

Vivi immediately went to calm Carue down, stroking his bill. Chopper pulled off his pack and went to examine the man lying on the ground. Sanji, on the other hand, stayed back and gave the injured man a once over, despite not being able to see his face.

The stranger was wearing a long dark green coat, a red sash around his waist, and black pants that were tucked into a pair of boots. He was wearing a dark bandanna over his hair, three gold earrings on one of his ears, and had at some point shrugged off the top part of his coat to reveal he wasn't wearing a shirt. The only type of upper covering he wore was a green haramaki around his waist.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched. That haramaki looked awfully familiar.

"He has a deep stab wound in his shoulder, but it's not as bad as it looks," Chopper examined, though he sounded nervous. "But I can't get a good look at his forehead. Sanji, can you help me flip him over? Gently, that is."

Sanji nodded and moved to the other side of the fallen man. Now he could see why Chopper was nervous. The man had a sword with a black and red blade gripped in his left hand. Chopper carefully slipped the sword away, and the stranger didn't so much as flinch. Sanji knelt down, and on the count of three, the cook and the reindeer moved the stranger onto his back while the latter at the same time removed his bandanna.

The reaction was almost instantaneous.

"What the-!" Chopper gasped.

Sanji's cigarette fell from his mouth. "There's _two_ of them?"

Vivi's eyes widened. "How is this possible?!"

There were a few minor differences that stood out, but there was no mistaking it. They were looking into the unconscious face of Roronoa Zoro.

* * *

**Next Time:**

"Uh, Mr. Bushido? You wouldn't happen to have an older brother who looks eerily like you and also carries three swords, do you?"

"That's an awfully specific question. No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

"... You should probably see for yourself."

"HOLY CRAP!"


	3. Similarity Breeds Familiarity

**Wow, look at all the follows! I'M POPULAR!**

**Seriously though, thank you all for the follows, faves, and reviews. As a token of my thanks, here's a little guide as to whose ghostly voice was saying what in the fog scene, in order of what was being said.**

**Usopp, Bellamy, Eneru, Crocodile, Robin, Montblanc Cricket, Iceburg, Franky, Brook, Hatchan, Franky, Brook, Robin, Luffy, Chopper, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Zoro, and any after that was Ace's voice.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Similarity Breeds Familiarity, and Familiarity Brings About a Whole Slew of Headaches**

* * *

Zoro did not like this island. Just standing on the beach gave him an uneasy feeling he couldn't shake off, and he wanted to leave it as soon as possible.

After the Love Cook, the Princess, the Reindeer, and Carue went off to the woods, he actually listened to Nami when she barked at him, Luffy, and Usopp to start collecting coconuts. At this point, he take any excuse to get his mind of the odd vibes the island gave off.

Now that he thought about it, that uneasy feeling most likely started back in the rainbow fog. He'd heard _his_ _own voice_ say he couldn't protect his captain. Why would Luffy need protecting? He hated to admit it, but Luffy was stronger than him, there was no changing that (at the moment). The day Luffy would need protecting would be a dire one indeed. Even if Luffy needed to be protected, why would he fail? Hadn't he promised Luffy he'd never lose again?

Zoro shook his head and threw another coconut down to Usopp. He needed to stop worrying about it. The stupid fog was just mimicking his voice (and he wasn't going to waste time trying to figure out how it did that. It was just another weird Grand Line occurrence he had to accept), trying to get inside his head. He'd never fail in protecting anyone on this crew. And as for the uneasy feeling... well, he'd just have to remain ready for a fight at any time. That was usually where all his uneasy feelings led to, anyway.

"Ow!" he heard Usopp squeak. "Zoro! Watch where you're dropping those things!"

Zoro looked down to see a large lump forming on the sniper's head.

"Whoops. My bad."

"If you're going to apologize, then at least try to sound sorry, jerk!"

Zoro jumped down from the tree, swords clinking against each other. "Whatever. Did we collect enough coconuts to please the witch yet?"

"I heard that!" Nami hollered from farther down the beach.

"We_ would_ have enough..." Usopp said, glancing at the measly pile of coconuts at his feet. He turned on his heel to glare at his captain. "...if _someone_ would stop eating them all!"

Luffy looked up from the rock he was balancing a coconut on, ready to crush it with another rock. "What did I do?"

"Luffy, stop eating our supplies!" Zoro shouted. "We need them for the trip to Alabasta!"

"But I'm_ hungry_!"

"You're _always _hungry!"

"Maybe if someone would find me some mystery island meat, I wouldn't be eating the coconuts!"

"Why you-"

"That's enough!" Nami ordered, rejoining the boys. "Honestly, I could hear you guys from the other side of the beach. Stop yelling like children and get back to work!"

"If you want it done so badly, why don't you help?" Usopp grumbled.

_Because that would require her doing actual work,_ Zoro thought bitterly.

Nami flipped her hair. "I'm surveying the land, of course. We need to remain vigilant on a 'mystery' island." She turned to look at the jungle. "Part of me wishes we weren't in such a hurry to leave, though. If I had time, I would love to to perform a thorough survey and make a map."

Luffy had grown bored with coconuts and now was simply kicking pink sand around. "If you want to make a map, we could stay a little longer. I still want to explore the jungle."

"We can't, Luffy," Nami sighed. "We're on a schedule. I don't want to delay our arrival in Alabasta any more than I have to, so if that means not making one map, I can live with it."

"Besides Luffy, I don't want to be here when the zombies show up!" Usopp added fearfully.

"Why? If we're not here when they do show up, how am I going to find my musician?"

"We are_ not_ getting a zombie to join this crew!"

"Oh for the love of- Usopp, enough with the zombie talk already!" Nami snapped. "We don't know if this is a haunted island or not! So stop all your- OW!"

Nami's rant was thankfully stopped from something small and hard flying into her head.

"Ow..." Nami groaned, rubbing the sore spot. She turned to face Luffy. "Luffy! Why did you throw a rock at me?!"

Luffy shook his head furiously. "I didn't throw a rock! I was just kicking the sand around and my foot hit something! I didn't mean to make something hit your head!"

Zoro knelt down, picking up the projectile that hit their navigator. "Also, this isn't a rock. Come have a look."

The other three gathered around their swordsman, examining what he held in his hand. It looked similar to Nami's wooden log pose, only the base was bigger and flatter, and instead of a large glass ball holding the needle, it was three smaller balls holding three separate needles.

"A... log pose?" Usopp questioned.

"I think so," Zoro replied. "Though why a log pose would need three needles is beyond me."

"Maybe it's to find more islands!" Luffy suggested. "Each needle points to a different one, and you can choose which way you want to go!"

Nami took the... Triple Pose, she supposed, and compared it with her own. She frowned, for all four needles were all spinning without any sign of locking on to something.

"It's almost as if there's nothing to lock onto..." she said, mostly to herself.

"Huh? Did you say something, Nami?" Luffy asked.

Before Nami could reply, she was interrupted.

"Oi, Nami, Luffy!"

Nami stuffed the triple pose into her pocket, and turned with the others to look towards direction the shout had come. What they saw was Sanji, Vivi, Chopper, and Carue exiting the jungle.

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy called. "You're back! Find anything cool in there?"

"Uh, depends on what you think is cool," Sanji replied vaguely.

Zoro noticed the only one holding any fruit was Chopper. "What's the deal, Cook? You guys were gone for that long and only come back with one basket of food? I thought you'd want to impress Nami or something."

"What's wrong with wanting to impress me?!" Nami demanded.

The four leaving the jungle stopped walking and stared at Zoro, as if they couldn't believe they he was standing there. Then, almost simultaneously, they all glanced at Carue.

"Hey, who's that on Carue's back?" Usopp asked suddenly.

They couldn't see very well from the angle the others were at, but there was definitely someone slumped over in Carue's saddle.

"Wait, did you guys actually find someone on this island?" Nami asked. "That's great! If we find more, then we can finally learn where the heck we are!"

Sanji and the others said nothing. They just kept those anxious and disturbed expressions on their faces.

"Hey, what's with those faces?" Luffy asked. "You guys look like you saw something really weird. Oh, what is it the zombies? Please tell me you found the zombies!"

"No, we didn't find any zombies," Chopper replied. "What we found is much weirder."

"What's weirder than zombies?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes. The uneasy feeling was coming back in full force.

"Uh, Mr. Bushido?" Vivi spoke up. "You wouldn't happen to have an older brother who looks eerily like you and also carries three swords, do you?"

"That's an awfully specific question," Zoro said, raising an eyebrow. "No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

Vivi bit her lip. "...You should probably see for yourself."

Vivi and her group walked over to their friends, then moved out of the way so they could see who was lying in Carue's saddle more clearly. It appeared to be an unconscious man wearing a long green coat, and he did have three swords sheathed into his sash (two of which looked very familiar). And that was when they saw his face.

"HOLY CRAP!" Usopp hollered.

Nami's jaw dropped. There was just no way.

Zoro's eyes widened to the size of plates, and it was safe to say he was thoroughly freaked out. That was his face he was looking at. His _own face_ was also the face of a stranger. Why did some stranger the cook found in the woods have _his_ face?

Luffy smiled. "Oh, hey Zoro! When did you go into the woods with Chopper and the others?"

"I'm right next you, moron!" Zoro snapped.

Luffy looked from the Zoro standing next to him, to the 'Zoro' lying on Carue. Judging from his expression, his brain was going into overload trying to figure this out. How could there be_ two_ of Zoro?

Nami turned to the others. "Care to explain what the heck all of this is? Who... who is this guy? Why does he have..._that_ face?"

"_That_ face?" Zoro repeated. "That's _my_ face! Just what the hell is going on?!"

At Zoro's shouts, Chopper hid behind Vivi. "W-we found him in the jungle. His shoulder and head were bleeding, and I couldn't just...just leave him there. He would've bled to death!"

"And to be fair, we thought he was you." Vivi added.

"I patched him as well as I could back in the jungle, but he needs stitches for his shoulder," Chopper continued, his voice less timid. "I didn't have the right materials, so I told Sanji and Vivi to carry him back to the Merry. Is that okay?"

To Zoro, it was_ not_ okay. This was not natural, and he didn't want whoever this guy was on the ship. Luffy, however, had other ideas.

"Of course it's okay, Chopper," Luffy said. "Do whatever have to do."

"Thanks Luffy," Chopper said in relief. He turned to the duck. "Come on Carue, help me get him to the sick bay."

Carue quacked in response and followed the doctor towards the Merry. As soon as they were gone, Zoro turned to glare at his captain.

"What is wrong with you?!" Zoro barked. "You just let Chopper take that guy on to the Merry? We don't know_ who_ or _what_ he is!"

"Chopper's a doctor," Luffy said simply, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to tell him he can't treat someone."

"That doesn't change the fact that we can't trust him!"

"Why not? I think he has a pretty trustworthy face."

"That's because it's Zoro face, idiot!" Usopp pointed out.

"How about we go back to the Merry before we finish the discussion," Sanji sighed, running a hand tiredly through his hair. "I don't like talking about this out in the open."

Sanji had a point. There was something of an ominous weight hanging the air, so it was decided they would return to the Going Merry, for now.

* * *

"Start from the beginning," Zoro ground out. "How_ exactly_ did you find this guy?"

The crew was standing on the deck of the Merry, waiting for Chopper to finish stitching up Zoro's double. Said crew could understand Zoro's agitated attitude, though. It wasn't everyday you found someone that was wearing the same face as you. Anyone would have found it unnerving.

"We were picking fruit when Carue started up his panicky squawking," Sanji said, lighting yet another smoke. "We went to check on him, and found him pacing in front of Mosshead the Second. He was lying face down on the ground, sword drawn and bleeding out. He must have been in some sort of fight before we got there."

"That does sound like something that would happen to Zoro," Usopp said with a nod.

"Shut up, Longnose!" Zoro yelled. "That guy is not me!"

"I never said he was!" Usopp yelled back. "And don't make fun of my nose! I got this nose from my mother!"

"Enough you two!" Nami shouted. "Yelling at each other isn't going to fix anything. Sanji, please continue."

"Of course, Nami love!" Sanji cooed before getting serious again. "Anyway, Chopper immediately got to work tending to his wounds, leaving me and Vivi to try and figure how Zoro could be in the woods when we saw him not twenty minutes ago on the beach." He breathed out some smoke. "Seeing as Zoro's standing only a couple feet away from me, either that man in the sick bay is just a look-alike or Mosshead also has an older brother he never told us about."

"I said I don't have an older brother, swirls!" Zoro argued. He paused. "Why do you keep saying 'older' brother?"

"I'd be saying he was your twin or something," Usopp added. He struck a dramatic pose. "Long lost twins, separated at birth by circumstances they could not control!"

"Cool!" Luffy cheered.

"Shut up, I don't have a twin either!" Zoro yelled. He looked at Vivi. "Why did you think he was my older brother?"

"This guy does look almost exactly like you," Vivi explained. "But his features are more... mature. I'd say this man is a year or two older than you, if not more."

"Aw," Luffy sighed. "Guess that means he's not Zoro's long lost twin."

"Why are you disappointed about that?" Zoro asked, sweatdropping.

"Twins are cool."**(A/N: Being a twin myself, of course, I'm totally biased.) **

"If you say so."

"Sanji, I don't think the other Mr. Bushido is our Mr. Bushido's brother," Vivi went on. "Brothers look alike, but they usually don't have the same scars on their chests."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Sanji remembered. "Other Zoro did have the same scar on his chest as Zoro."

Zoro's hand floated up to his chest. It was bad enough the Other Zo- the_ lookalike_ had his face. Now he had Zoro's marks of pride as well?

"It's not just the one of his chest," Chopper added, coming out of the door that led to the galley.

"Hey, Chopper!" Luffy greeted. "How's Other Zoro doing?"

"When did we start calling him 'Other Zoro'?" Usopp wondered.

Chopper wiped some sweat off his brow. "As I thought, the wound on his shoulder wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed. I disinfected the wound and stitched it closed, and I have him set up on mattress on the floor in the galley. I hope you don't mind, Sanji. I didn't feel comfortable giving him stitches on those crates we're using as my examination table."

Sanji waved it off. "It's alright. Just clean everything up when you move him again. Now, you were saying something about his scars?"

"Oh right. As I was saying, Other Zoro doesn't just have the same chest scar as our Zoro. I took off his boots before I laid him on the mattress, and do you know what I saw? Other Zoro has the same scars around his ankles as Zoro!"

Chopper had first seen Zoro's ankle scars the previous day, spotting them after kicked off his boots to train. When he asked Nami, she simply said they were from Zoro being stupid and not to worry about it.

"Seriously!?" Luffy asked. "Does this mean Other Zoro tried to cut his feet off too?"

"Zoro got those scars from trying to cut off his feet?!" Chopper gasped. He collected himself. "Ahem. The Other Zoro's ankle scars were at least a few years old, but they were completely identical."

"Okay, this getting kind of creepy," Nami said, hugging her arms. "I know there's a saying about how there's somebody out there who looks just like you, but I don't think they're supposed to be_ that_ similar."

"Tell me about it," Sanji said, exhaling smoke. "One sword freak is bad enough. I don't think the world could handle two of them."

Zoro no longer looked agitated, even with the fuel of Sanji's remark. Instead, he appeared to be thoughtful. Nami was right for once about how strange this was. No two people were_ that_ similar. Scars were like fingerprints; you could never find two identical ones. If this 'Other Zoro' really did have all the same scars as himself, only older, on top of the fact he looked exactly like him... could it be possible that...

Zoro sighed internally. Well, this was the Grand Line. He'd bet money that they would run into much, much weirder before their journey was through. Still, he needed see one thing before he was convinced...

"Chopper, is my look-alike ready to receive visitors?"

Everyone on deck turned to look at the swordsman, surprised by his sudden change in attitude and even more so that he actually wanted to see Other Zoro.

"Uh, I guess so," Chopper replied. "Why?"

"I have a guess as to where he came from," Zoro explained, getting up from the barrel he was sitting on. "But I need to check something to be sure."

"You're going to look at Other Zoro's swords, right?" Luffy asked.

Zoro simply raised his eyebrow while the others (except Chopper, who didn't know this was unlike Luffy yet) gawked at their captain's perceptiveness.

"Two of them looked kind of like yours," Luffy went on. "You want to go in and check them out, don't you?"

Zoro smirked. "Guess I can't keep anything from you, can I, Captain? You okay with it?"

Luffy grinned. "Sure, but only if the rest of us get to come in too. Is _that_ okay with_ you_?"

Zoro nodded and said it was, because he knew that even if he said no, Luffy would go ahead and do it anyway. He was just as interested in the mystery behind the Other Zoro (for lack of a better thing to call him) as the rest of the crew. Once getting the okay from Chopper, the crew filed into the galley.

* * *

It was just as Chopper said. The doctor had pushed the dining table up against the wall, and the Other Zoro was laid on a mattress in the middle of the floor with a blanket over him. His shoulder and part of his chest was bandaged, as well as the wound on his forehead. Chopper had removed his coat and sash, folded them neatly, then placed them on to the table. His boots and bandanna were resting on top of his coat, and the doctor had lined the Other Zoro's swords neatly in a row on the table next to his clothes.

Chopper immediately knelt down and started examining his patient again, starting by listening to his heart with a stethoscope. One could never be too careful.

Meanwhile, this was the first time the crew, aside from the members who found him, were getting a good look at the Other Zoro. Up close, they could see the striking similarities, but also the differences.

Other Zoro seemed to have even bigger muscles than their Zoro, if that was possible, as well as a slightly thicker neck. His mossy hair was also a little longer and partially slicked back. Besides the massive one stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip, his chest and arms were a patchwork of other thin scars running along each other. And speaking of scars, Other Zoro had a thin one running down his left eye, as if he had been sliced there. (Which, knowing their own Zoro, was probably the case.)

It was as Vivi said. Other Zoro looked like their Zoro, but a few years older.

"I can see why you all thought he was Zoro's older brother," Usopp admitted. "The likeness is almost uncanny."

Usopp could imagine that if they put Zoro through some magic aging machine, Other Zoro would most likely be the end product.

Sanji leaned over, glancing at the Other Zoro's eye scar. "I've been wondering. What's up with his eye?"

Chopper looked up briefly. "I took a look at it when I was treating his head. Other Zoro appears to be blind in his left eye."

For some reason, that new information made something twist in Sanji's stomach, though he wasn't sure why. At the same time, Luffy also gained an unreadable, blank look in his eyes at Chopper's words as he looked upon his swordsman's double.

Zoro rolled his eyes. Now he was doubting his theory. Like he would ever be stupid enough to let something happen to his eye. Becoming the world's greatest swordsman would be hard enough without throwing a lack of depth perception into the mix... then again, even he couldn't control the outcome of a battle, and he doubted his look-alike was any different.

Nami walked over to the table and inspected Other Zoro's clothes. "Hmm. Well, it looks like this man doesn't share all of the same disastrous fashion tastes as Zoro. This coat is actually kind of nice."

Vivi also walked over to the table as well, but not to look at Other Zoro's clothes. Her focus was on the small stack of clear vials with needles sticking out lying there.

She picked one up. "What are these? Syringes?"

Luffy also looked. "They look like darts to me."

Usopp picked one up and lowered one of his goggles' lenses, examining it. "You're both right, actually. These are tranquilizer darts."

"Tranquilizer darts?" the princess repeated. She frowned. "Nasty."

"You recognize them, Usopp?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah. You can load these kind into a gun and fire them at rampaging animals or even people. They hold a liquid that can make you pass out if it gets injected into you."

"Wow, Usopp!" Chopper said. "You sure know a lot! I only recognized them because Doctorine sometimes used them on her more unruly patients." Doctor Hiruluk used them as well, but Chopper didn't feel like explaining that at the moment.

"I do not doubt that," Sanji said, wincing as he rubbed the small of his back.

"Well, of course!" Usopp said proudly. "What kind of sniper would the Great Captain Usopp be if I didn't know my way around different kinds of ammunition?"

"You're a captain, Usopp?" Chopper gasped. "That's amazing!... Wait, I thought Luffy was the captain."

"I am," Luffy replied. "But before he joined our crew, Usopp was captain of the Usopp Pirates. Right, Usopp?"

"Right!" Usopp nodded.

Chopper's eyes sparkled in admiration.

"Why do you have tranq darts, Chopper?" Zoro asked.

Chopper sopped sparkling and gestured to Other Zoro. "I pulled them out of his body. He's lucky, though. If anyone else had taken that much tranquilizer into their body, their hearts would have stopped."

"ZORO COULD HAVE DIED?!" Luffy hollered. Carue quacked worriedly also.

"Other Zoro's not our Zoro, moron!" Nami yelled at him.

"Quiet! He needs to rest!" Chopper scolded them. "You'll wake him!"

"Please," Sanji scoffed. "He's hopped up on tranquilizers and, if he's anything like our Mosshead, it'll take nothing short of charging Marines carrying booze to wake him up. However, that's not problem here."

"It's not?"

"No, it's not. Other Mosshead had his sword drawn when we found him, and had his bandanna over his head. If he's like Mosshead in personality as well as looks, he would only do that in a serious fight."

Zoro was actually slightly impressed that Sanji noticed that about him. Now that he would ever say that out loud, of course.

Sanji took a drag. "Now if you throw tranquilizer darts into the situation..."

A silence fell over the room.

"There's someone on that island," Zoro said, most likely speaking for everyone. "Someone who felt he needed to take down my counterpart down at any cost. Who's to say they won't come after us next?"

Nami and Usopp shrieked in fear, Vivi frowned worriedly, and Luffy looked interested at the prospect of a fight. If Sanji had a problem with Zoro interrupting him, he wasn't saying anything. Zoro made his way to the table, deciding now would be a good time to look at his double's swords.

First, the red sheathed one. He picked it up and removed it from it's sheathe, seeing the familiar flame-like patterns down it's blade. The immediate surge of blood lust and anger that radiated from the sword proved it to be Sandai Kitetsu. Zoro feel could feel it's dissatisfaction, as if it were wondering why such weak hands dared to wield it. Zoro glared at the blade, slid it back into the sheathe, and set it down.

Next, the black sheathed one. Zoro knew immediately it was not Yubashiri. This sheathe of this sword was black like Yubashiri's, but this had red dots running down it instead of gold decorations. Wrapped around the upper part of the sheathe was a _sageo_ rope, and the_ tsuba_ was shaped like a flower instead of Yubashiri's cross-like one. He drew it, and his hand did something of an involuntary dip. This sword was much, much heavier than Yubashiri. Still, Zoro had to admire the craftsmanship of the red and black patterned blade. This was a nice sword, one he wouldn't mind using if he ever decided to move from Santoryu to Yontoryu. Back in it's sheathe and on the table it went.

Lastly, the white sheathed one. Zoro didn't have to unsheathe it, hold it, or even look at it all that closely. He'd had this sword since he was a child and he recognized it instantly. This white sword was Kuina's sword, no mistaking it. His hand went to the white sword at his own hip, and he glanced at Other Zoro.

"So," Luffy piped up. "Anything to say about the swords?"

It was then Zoro finally noticed the crew had been watching him the entire time he had been inspecting his double's weapons.

For a few moments while he had been inspecting though, they had decided to worry about one problem at a time, so the possibility of an enemy being on the island was pushed into a corner for now. They'd focus on the situation at hand first.

"Yeah," Zoro sighed, rubbing his neck tiredly. "I've never seen the black one before, but the other two are definitely mine."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright then. Guess that's that."

"They can't be the same swords," Nami argued. "It's just not possible. Maybe they're duplicates too, or-"

"Nami, shut up," Zoro said a stern, calm tone.

Nami obliged, surprisingly.

Zoro slid his own swords out of his haramaki and held them up. "This red sheathed sword is Sandai Kitetsu, and the white one is Wado Ichimonji. Every sword that is made, including these two, is completely unique. _Especially_ these two. You can't just create fakes of them." He put Kitetsu back, but held Wado a little higher. "I've had this one since I was a little kid. I'd know it anywhere, and the one on the table is the same sword. I'd bet my life on it."

Of course, the declaration only made everything more confusing as opposed to clearing everything up. Two of Zoro, two of two of Zoro's swords, what was next? A duplicate of the Going Merry sailing up next to them?

"If they're the same swords, it doesn't explain how two of them can exist at the same time," Vivi said. "Just who is Other Mr. Bushido?"

"I actually have a theory about that," Zoro said. "I wanted to look at his swords to prove it, and this just did. This guy-"

"Is you, isn't he."

Another startling observation from the ship's resident captain. The others gawked (even Chopper, this time).

"_EHHHHHHHH?!_"

Zoro didn't look too shocked. He knew Luffy had come to the same conclusion he had when he said he wanted to see the swords. He knew Luffy acted like (and primarily was) a complete moron, but if there was one thing Luffy knew, it was his crew.

"Luffy, what do you mean?" Usopp asked slowly.

"Other Zoro _is_ Zoro," Luffy said, shrugging. "But, you know, different."

"By different, he means 'older,'" Zoro added. "'Other Zoro' is an older version of me."

"That's impossible!" Sanji shouted. "You're right here! How can he be an older version of you?!"

"...Other Zoro does have the same blood type as Zoro. I checked," Chopper said quietly. He tapped his nose. "And they have the same scent."

"That doesn't answer my question, reindeer!" Sanji snapped.

"We're on the Grand Line, Cook," Zoro said, crossing his arms. "You have to be prepared for much stranger than running into an older version of your crewmate."

"I'm with Sanji on this!" Nami shouted, making Sanji twirl in happiness. "I can understand how him actually being you explains why you and he and the swords are all practically identical, but that doesn't explain how he got here! Are you suggesting he traveled in time or something?"

"You said it, not me."

"Arghh!"

"I've read about that happening in fiction books, but not in real life," Vivi said. "Still, I personally can't think of anything else that can explain how someone like him exists. If only we knew how he even got on this island..."

"Let's ask!" Luffy suggested.

Luffy walked over to where the Other Zoro lay, knelt down, and placed his palm on the double's chest.

"Zoro, wake up!"

And he did.

* * *

**Next Time:**

"... What's your name?"

"Roronoa Zoro. You?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

"... How old are you?"

"I'm twenty one. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're nineteen."

"Good guess."


	4. Roronoa, Meet Zoro

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, Zoro and Sanji would never wear shirts. Like, ever.**

**I decided this this fanfic need a theme song. The theme song for Tomorrow's Romance Dawn will be One Piece Opening 14, "Fight Together," the English version done by StrawberryCreme on Youtube. Check it out, it's nicely done. I chose this instead of the Japanese version because StrawberryCreme used some lyrics that will fit this perfectly later on.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Roronoa, Meet Zoro. And Vice Versa.**

* * *

**Location: Near the Fruit Glade, Kāla**

Erity's eyebrow twitched. It was days like this that made her wonder why she worked with these people.

"Explain to me," she said, squeezing the bridge of her nose, "how exactly you two got like this _again_?"

Yari and Runo glared down at her. "SHUT UP AND GET US DOWN!"

By "get us down," they meant to free them from the giant- and incredibly vicious- venus flytraps they had 'mysteriously' gotten attacked by and caught in.

That's right. Venus flytraps. Giant ones.

Erity rolled her eyes. The whole picture before her would have been almost funny, if this hadn't happened _two times_ already. So much for lethal New World bounty hunters. The boss said they had come highly recommended, so she didn't doubt their skills. It was their intelligence level that was going to cause issues. These two were complete buffoons.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer!" Runo shouted as one of the flytraps attempted to bite down on him. "Help us out here!"

"Come _on_, Runo," she said in a whiny tone. "You've gotten out of tighter spots than that. And this the third time today!"

"FLYTRAPS ARE_ NOT_ AIR DUCTS AND BOXES! HELP US OR JUST DIE!"

Erity rolled her eyes again and grabbed one of the men's sabers from its sheathe. She was no swordsman, and she knew those flytraps were stronger and any mere sword, but she could at least get them to let go. She jumped forward and stabbed the blade into the flytraps' maws. The plants shrieked (can plants shriek?) and dropped their would-be meals. Runo and Yari ran away as fast as they could, giving the men a chance to come in with flamethrowers. (And Vaughan said bringing the flamethrowers would be self-indulgent. Ha!)

Yari and Runo stood next to Erity now, panting. The latter gave them a harsh glare.

"What?" Yari asked.

"I'm ashamed to be seen with you," Erity replied, turning to walk away.

"Hey, don't blame us for that!" Runo protested, walking quickly beside her. "Yari and I are supposed the brains of this operation! You and the Vamp are the muscle!"

"Vaughan isn't a vampire. I checked," Yari added. "And as for my contribution to the argument, how were we supposed to know that coward had such... _unusual_ ammunition?"

"He was in the New World and a member of _that_ crew," Erity huffed. "You should have expected him to be strong despite also being a coward. And don't the two of you have Kenbunshoku Haki? You should_ literally_ be able to see his attacks coming, or at least know where he is!"

"We can hear his 'voice', but for whatever reason, we can't pinpoint it. And knowing an attack's coming doesn't help if we are unable to avoid it," Yari replied simply. "Even a novice knows that."

"Ooh, burn!" Runo snickered.

Erity rolled her eyes once again (geez, if she kept this up, she'd be as dizzy as a dodo bird by the end of the day). "Forget it. Have the men had any luck yet?"

Yari shook her head. "None whatsoever. They haven't found any trace of the boss's treasure. Oh, and five of them got eaten."

The fact she added that last part as something of a side note caused Erity to nearly miss the fact she said it at all.

"What do you mean they got eaten?" Erity demanded.

"They waded through one of the island's lakes, and a sea king got them."

"... What was a sea king doing in a lake?"

"Who knows?" Runo shrugged, his usual feral smile on. "We are on Kāla. This is the kind of place that's supposed to drive you mad. Nothing makes sense here."

Erity sighed and rubbed her temple. Maybe joining up on this venture hadn't been the best of ideas. If she had known how many headaches it was going to cause, she would never agreed to it in the first place. Maybe she should quit now and go home... the others would be happy to have her back, wouldn't they? Dang it, but she just liked bounty hunting too much! Not that she would turn in her queen's bounty. She wasn't that heartless.

It was then Erity noticed they had arrived at the part of the forest where all those fruit trees were. It was perfect timing, too. She was famished and some fruit was exactly what she needed. As she approached a peach tree, she remembered how they found this place. It was after she and Vaughan had taken care of that weird kid, and Vaughan had to help finish off that weird swordsman-

Wait a second.

Erity walked backward a few feet and looked down. There was blood on the grass and signs of a fight all around.

But no body.

Erity pursed her lips. This was where they left his body; she remembered it specifically because she recalled arguing with Vaughan about just leaving a high-bountied pirate behind when they could turn in his corpse later (Vaughan argued that his price would be dropped thirty percent, therefore not worth it). The guy had taken seven darts of tranquilizer; there was no way he would have survived. But a dead body didn't just get up and walk away, so how-

_**POP!**_

"ERITY!"

Erity looked up to find a _very_ familiar sight indeed and she immediately forgot about the missing body. She had other problems to deal with now.

"SERIOUSLY?! _AGAIN_?"

* * *

**Location: Up a Tree that is a Relatively Safe Distance from the Fruit Glade, Kāla**

He pulled down his goggles, sighing. This was the fourth time those freaks had let themselves get caught by that same attack. It wouldn't be long before they began figuring out ways to get out of it. However he would he would cross that bridge when he came to it, and would for now continue with his current plan.

He grit his teeth. Dang it, why didn't the others listen to him? He knew coming to this island was a bad idea. The island was covered in fog and a current practically dragged their ship there. Didn't they learn about what happened whenever their crew came ashore islands with fog after their experiences on Thriller Bark? Did anyone listen to him? Does anyone _ever_ listen to him? No, they didn't, because pretty much everyone else on the crew had a death wish!

And then all this had happened. He didn't know where the others were, except maybe the few that freak with the feral grin had gotten a hold of, but he didn't like the blood on the ground in the glade. It could easily have belonged to any one of his crewmates.

He had considered going after the ones that were kidnapped, but decided against it. The last time he went after something stolen alone... well, that didn't go so well. He was stronger now than he was back then, but he knew his limits. Storming the proverbial castle was a two-man job, preferably if that second man was a member of the crew's Monster Trio.

So he would watch, wait, and hinder their progress. These bounty hunters were searching for something on this island, and he wasn't about to let them have whatever they wanted.

* * *

**Location: Aboard the Going Merry, anchored in the water outside of Kāla (Cause if you haven't figured out this is where they are by now, now you know.)**

_"I'm afraid I can't give you the time," the brat said with a shrug. "Time does pretty much whatever it wants here."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"_

_"Tell you what, how about you figure it out and tell me later. Sound good to you, Moss Hair?"_

_The brat had disappeared into the trees before he could reprimand her for that comment. It wasn't long after that did he encounter one of the other visitors to the island._

_"Okay, Mr. Tough Guy. How much pain can you handle?"_

_"Wow, you're not even screaming. That's some high tolerance you got there."_

_"Pain remembers, you know. What does your pain remember?"_

___Talk about a psycho. Then someone else came._

_"Their crew is of low priority right now. Let the tranqs stop his heart and let's go. We don't have time for him."_

_Then darkness came._

"Zoro, wake up!"

Zoro's good eye snapped open at his captain's voice. His vision was blurred, but it was quickly clearing up. His shoulder ached and his head throbbed, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't ignore it. He was lying on something soft, and a blanket was pulled over his body.

So that meant he wasn't in that jungle anymore. Was he back on the Sunny? He didn't remember anything after blacking out... or more specifically, after that red-eyed freak hit him with tranq darts. He scowled inwardly. He couldn't believe he let himself be brought down by something as pathetic as tranquilizer darts. If the cook ever learned about this (and chances were he already had), he'd never let him live it down.

"Zoro?" Luffy's voice broke in. He began poking Zoro's head. "Zooooorrroooo. You awake?"

"His eyes- er, eye opened, crappy captain. He's awake," the cook's voice said, being ever so considerate by standing on Zoro's blind side.

Not that it mattered. His vision was still a little swimmy. Though, why did the cook sound so uneasy?

"Then how come he hasn't said anything?" Luffy asked. "He's just lying there."

"I'm awake, Luffy" Zoro rasped, swatting the rubber boy's hand away. He immediately regretted talking, for his throat felt dry and nasty. He needed a drink of water, badly. He pushed himself into a sitting position, which immediately sent a flare of pain through his shoulder.

The pain was minimal compared to what that witch had put him through earlier, but it was enough to make him clutch the inflicted shoulder.

"Don't sit up!" Chopper's voice shrieked. "You'll tear open your stitches!"

Zoro began to roll his eye, but stopped midway. This was Chopper's usual spiel, but it sounded different this time. Chopper sounded nervous, or even almost... scared.

The cook sounded uneasy, and Chopper sounded scared. What was wrong? What had happened that was making his crewmates act so strange?

"I'm fine, Chopper," Zoro said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "You know I've had much worse than a sliced-up shoulder." He coughed. "Damn it. Can somebody get me some water or something?"

A cup was thrust into his hands a minute later by who he assumed was Nami. Would his stupid vision just clear up already? He didn't to be blind in both his eyes. Getting used to just having one eye was annoying enough.

"So, Zoro," Luffy said. "How'd you end up in the mystery jungle?"

"And unconscious, for that matter?" Nami added. She too sounded strange, like she was talking to a stranger instead of her crewmate.

Zoro took a sip and shrugged, and this time he ignored the pain it brought. "I don't know. I was walking with Brook and he got lost. I ended up in the jungle so I started looking for him, but then this creepy girl showed up and we fought." He scowled. "She didn't win. Some red eyed freak showed up and knocked me out. I'll explain more later. Anyway, did anything happen before you guys brought me back to the Sunny? Cook, Nami, and Chopper are all acting weird."

"What's the Sunny?" someone asked.

Zoro turned to give the speaker a look that asked if they were stupid. "You know, the _Thousand Sunny_? The name of our-"

He froze. His vision had cleared up almost entirely by this point, and he was quite surprised to see the speaker was someone who should not have been there. Someone who he hadn't seen in over two years, and her duck.

"Vivi? Carue?" he asked, trying not to sound too incredulous. "What are you guys doing here?"

Vivi hadn't changed a bit, and neither had Carue, which Zoro found odd. His crew had certainly looked a little different after two years, so wouldn't Vivi have changed in some way? She looked exactly the way she did when she parted ways with the Straw Hats, minus the princess get up. She was wearing that pink t-shirt with the black x's Nami had given her.

Vivi crossed her arms. "I've been here for awhile now... Mr. Bushido. Almost two weeks, in fact."

Carue nodded in agreement.

Zoro would have felt a little nostalgic at being called by his old nickname if the circumstances were different. What did Vivi mean she had been on the ship for almost two weeks? They were on Sabaody two weeks ago!

"I think we all would have noticed you if you had been on board, Vivi," Zoro argued. "How did you get all the way out here? Last I checked, we left you in Alabasta after Luffy kicked that sand croc's ass, and we haven't seen you since."

Vivi looked startled and... was would be a good word? Driven? Yeah, that was it. She looked driven. "Sand croc? Do you mean Crocodile?"

"Do you know any other sand crocs?" Zoro deadpanned.

"Sand croc? Shishishi, that's funny!" Luffy laughed. "Why do you call him that?"

Zoro turned to remind Luffy that _he_ was the one who came up with that nickname, but the words faded from his mind before he even said them. Luffy looked... different. He was lankier, and, even though he was crouching, Zoro could tell he was a little shorter. As for Luffy's eyes, they were... brighter. Brighter than they had been recent days anyway.

Luffy was also wearing that old red vest of his instead of the cardigan he favored now, but it showed enough of Luffy's chest reveal something was missing.

"Luffy..." Zoro said slowly. "Where's your scar?"

Luffy blinked, then pointed under his eye. "You mean this one?"

"Not the one under your eye, you moron! I was talking about the one on your chest!"

"I don't have a scar on my chest."

"Yeah, you do. It's big, red, and shaped like an 'x.' Scars like that don't just disappear, so where did yours go?"

Luffy frowned as his brow furrowed, and Zoro recognized it as Luffy's "I'm slightly confused and/or troubled" look. What was wrong with Luffy? Forgetting an old adversary's nickname was one thing (though how Luffy could ever forget _anything_ about Crocodile was beyond him); forgetting you had a scar and said scar being _missing_ was another. Not to mention Vivi and Carue were there when they definitely were not supposed to be. How in the world did they get on the Sunny? They hadn't been on the ship when they left Dock Island, they hadn't been on the ship when they left Fishman Island, and they definitely hadn't been on the ship when they left Sabaody Archipelago. Anytime before that, _no one_ had been on the ship.

Zoro was getting an uneasy feeling about this. It was the same uneasy feeling he got either right before a fight, or right before he was in for the headache of the century. And why wasn't anyone else saying anything? Why were they all just standing there in the galley, acting out of character and-

Wait a second. Zoro's eye scanned the room, and saw they were in _a_ galley. Just not the Sunny's.

"No way..." he said in an almost whisper.

Luffy cocked his head. "Zoro? Is there something wrong?"

This was impossible. There was no way he would be back in this galley. There was absolutely no conceivable way he would ever be back in _this_ particular galley.

"Is he alright?" Zoro heard Vivi whisper. "He looks like he's seen a ghost."

"You got me. I've only ever seen 'Zoro_' _look that freaked out once," he heard Usopp reply.

Zoro kicked off his blankets and jumped to his feet, immediately earning cries of protest from Chopper. He noticed his swords were laying on the galley table (How many times had he eaten on that table? He even carved his initials into it when the cook wasn't looking), so he snatched them up, shoved them through his haramaki, rammed his way past his crew, and gripped the knob of the door leading outside.

"Hey, hold on!" Chopper shouted fearfully. "You shouldn't be moving so much!"

"Watch who you're pushing, Mosshead!" Sanji added.

Zoro ignored them, pushed the door open, and ran out on to the deck.

* * *

After which he immediately stopped, causing him to slide a little due to inertia. He took in his surroundings, trying not to look too "freaked out", as Usopp put it. (If anyone should have been freaked out in this situation, it should have been the longnose.)

The sun was setting, painting the deck in reds and golds. This deck had no soft grass, only splintery planks. The only source of greenery anywhere were Nami's tangerine trees. Robin's flowerbed was not there, and neither was Usopp's garden. There was only one mast, and it was covered in metal plates from the time the captain ripped it off. The crow's nest looked painfully small compared to the observatory, and the helm was back in the galley instead of on deck. The figurehead was not a lion/sunflower/sun/whatever, but a somewhat cute sheep's head. Even that looked like it was about to fall off, what with the plate around it's neck from the time a whale knocked it clean off.

It was a small, humble ship, and Zoro knew he wouldn't want it to look any other way. That didn't, however, change the fact that this ship _wasn't supposed to be here_. This ship was gone, dang it. It was gone, it was dead, he had watched it burn along with everyone else-

Zoro took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. He was not going to lose control of his emotions over this. Recollecting himself, he walked over to the figurehead and gently rested his palm against it.

"Merry," he said softly. "What are you doing here? What's Vivi doing here? Just what the hell is going on?"

"That's what we should be asking."

Zoro's eye widened. It was his voice that said that, but he hadn't been the one who said it. He turned around in time to see the speaker emerge from around the corner he had been watching from.

That was when the day went from weird to just downright creepy. He recognized this young man's face, and that was because he saw it everyday in the mirror. At least, he saw everyday in the mirror back when he had both his eyes.

"Sorry I stepped out," the young man said. "Nami made me. Whispered something about not wanting you to freak."

Zoro's eye trailed from the young man's face to his three swords. Two of them were currently supposed to be strapped to his own hip, and they were. The third he had left behind on Thriller Bark.

"Yeah, bizarre, huh?" the younger of the two asked.

"To put it mildly," Zoro scoffed. He ran his hand through his hair. "Stupid Grand Line Islands..."

The rest of the crew must have decided now would be a good time to come after Zoro, because they all filed out of the galley and on to the deck. Now that they were in front of Zoro, he could see they too were different, just like Luffy had been. Nami's hair was shorter and she was wearing the old log pose instead the new one she got from Fishman Island. Curlicue's hair was parted back to the way it had been before their crew's separation, and he didn't have the new muscle mass he'd gained. And speaking of a lack of muscle mass, Usopp was back to looking like a toothpick in overalls. Chopper wasn't as lightly colored, and he was wearing his old pink hat instead of that new blue one. Luffy, Vivi, and Carue, of course, were self-explanatory.

Nami gasped, looking at their surroundings in bewilderment. "Why the_ heck_ is the sun setting? It's only noon!"

"Wow, that took longer than I thought it would!" Luffy said, adjusting his hat. "It felt like only a few minutes!"

"It WAS a few minutes!" Usopp hollered. "The sun shouldn't be setting!"

"It's just like all the ripe fruit," Vivi said to herself. "It's like the seasons and the sun are out of sync with everything else."

"Hey, Mosshead!" Sanji shouted at the younger of the two Mossheads. "You could've told us this was happening! The sun setting six hours early would have been nice to know!"

The younger man ignored the cook, instead only focusing on Zoro. He crossed his arms, as if he were waiting for something.

Zoro knit his eyebrows and also crossed his arms. "...What's your name?"

"Roronoa Zoro," the younger man replied. "You?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

"...How old are you?"

"I'm twenty one. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're nineteen."

"Good guess."

Both Zoros stared at each other, and what was running through their minds was anyone's guess. They both pulled off the exact same poker face. The rest of the crew watched the exchange in silence, waiting for some of kind reaction.

The older Zoro felt his shoulder throb, and looked down to see bright red staining the bandages. Just as Chopper predicted, he'd torn open his stitches.

"You might want to get that looked at," the younger Zoro commented.

Older Zoro clutched the wounded shoulder. "I've had worse. It's fine."

"It's not fine!" Chopper hollered, running over to the older swordsman. "Get back in the galley right now so I can fix this!"

Older Zoro glanced down at he reindeer. Younger Zoro had a scary enough face as it was, but the fact the Older Zoro was missing an eye made him look scarier.

"Uh... i-if you w-wouldn't mind, t-that is," Chopper stuttered, now looking ready to bolt.

Younger Zoro noticed flash of emotion appear and disappear quickly over Older Zoro's features. Was it... hurt? Yeah, it was hurt. It hurt Older Zoro that the young doctor was afraid of him. Younger Zoro thought that was a little odd, but didn't comment.

"I don't mind, Chopper," Older Zoro sighed at last. He began walking toward the galley. "Let's just get this over with."

Chopper nodded hesitantly and followed after him. Only the younger swordsman noticed when the elder swordsman made a quick glance at their captain before looking away. Once the elder swordsman and the reindeer were inside, said captain turned to Sanji.

"Hey, Sanji, get started on dinner. I'm hungry and I bet Other Zoro is too," Luffy commanded with a grin.

"Is your stomach all you can think about?!" Sanji shouted. "What about the fact we currently have two Mossheads on the Merry? And what do you mean, 'dinner?" It's lunch time!"

"But the sun is setting," Luffy replied. "That means it'll be night soon, and that means dinner. As for Zoro, what's to think? Zoro is Zoro; there's just two of him now, and one of them's a little different."

Sanji heaved an aggravated sigh. He never understood Luffy's logic, and he had a feeling he never would.

"Best just to do what he says, Sanji," Usopp said, patting the chef's back. "I have feeling we're going to have one long night ahead of us, and eating a little food would be good place to start."

"I agree with Usopp," Vivi added. "Some dinner would be a good icebreaker with the Other Mr. Bushido. We can ask him how he got here while we eat."

"You're so practical Vivi-chwan, that's an excellent idea!" Sanji praised joyfully. "Only you could think of such a brilliant notion!"

"Hey!" Usopp protested.

"I'll get started on our dinner-for-lunch right away!" Sanji continued.

"Yosh! Dinner-for-lunch!" Luffy cheered.

The captain, cook, chef, princess, and duck all filed back into the galley. Younger Zoro remained on deck, a serious expression on his face. Nami remained as well.

"Zoro, are you coming?" Nami asked quietly. She sighed. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to come in. I can only imagine how I would feel if an older version of me showed up. It would bother me a little, I guess. And then there's all this stuff with the island and the sunset. Everything is so strange here, and I want to know what's happening."

Younger Zoro didn't answer right away, and Nami for a moment thought that maybe he hadn't been paying attention. She was about to speak up and get his attention, but he beat her to it.

"I'm not bothered by him personally," he sighed, rubbing his neck and turning to face the navigator. "What bothers me is what he might represent."

Nami wasn't sure what the swordsman meant by that, but he didn't elaborate. He instead silently walked past her and started climbing up to the crow's nest.

"See you later," he said. "Call me when dinner's ready."

Nami frowned, but didn't try to stop him. She had a feeling he needed a little time to himself right now. Without another word, she went to join the others in the galley.

* * *

**Next Time:**

"Just tell me the most recent thing that has happened to you all," Roronoa said. "I'm trying to figure out how far back I've gone."

"Well, we left Drum Island two days ago," Vivi offered.

Roronoa spit out his sake.


	5. The Most Awkward Meal Ever

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. It is solely the creation of Oda-sama.**

**One Piece Episode 635: So, Bartolomeo's seiyu! Bart's voice is somewhat shaky sounding, but it works for him. And I love the scene where Zoro's chasing the "fairy." It was funny.**

**As for the recent update, I've been snowed in by the recent freakish weather, so I have an armload of free time. Not much happens in this chapter except a lot of talking, but the next one will be far more action-y. So don't forget to read and review! I love hearing from all of you!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Most Awkward Dinner-For-Lunch Ever**

* * *

**Time: Undetermined. It _might_ be noon though...  
****Location: The Galley of the Going Merry**

If voiced aloud, the crew would undoubtedly unanimously decide this had to be the most awkward atmosphere they had ever been in.

Sanji was at the stove, preparing their dinner-for-lunch. He was smoking while cooking, which he never really did unless his thoughts were elsewhere. Luffy hovered over his shoulder, trying to snatch bits of food, but the cook wasn't so distracted that he couldn't slap the rubber boy's hand away. Younger Zoro was still up in the crow's nest. Usopp, Nami, and Vivi were seated at the dining table, watching as Chopper finished putting fresh bandages on the Older Zoro's shoulder.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say they were just watching the Older Zoro.

No one was saying anything, not even Luffy. It was probably the quietest the ship had ever been, and that was what made the atmosphere so... well, awkward. No one seemed to have any idea as to what to say in a situation like this. If there was a pirate handbook, it most likely didn't dictate what to do if you either ended up on an island with no sense of time or if a future version of your swordsman showed up. It was not normal, but it did evoke a lot of different thoughts from the crew.

Vivi was thinking about what the Older Mr. Bushido said about Crocodile. According to him, Luffy defeated the warlord and the crew left her in Alabasta. Did this mean she would succeed in convincing the rebel army in standing down? A person from the future would surely have knowledge of future events. The idea of the crew staying with her through this despite it not being their problem made her feel happy, though. Still... they just_ left_ her? She knew she wasn't going to stay with the crew forever, but that thought made her feel a little sick.

Usopp was drawing circles in the table with his finger, thinking about the Going Merry. He had watched Older Zoro's reaction upon stepping out on to the deck through the open door. The expression on his face... he'd look as if he couldn't believe he was standing on the ship. It was as Vivi said, Older Zoro looked like he had seen a ghost. Just what happened to the Merry to make him look like that? And even before that, he'd said something the crew bringing him back to the _Sunny_. What was "the Sunny?"

Nami was trying _not_ to think about Older Zoro, actually. She was thinking about her log pose and the triple pose they found on the pink beach. Why did they just keep spinning? It was like when they first arrived in the Grand Line and her regular compass just kept spinning round and round. It did that because there were too many magnetic fields to lock on to. She doubted it was the same case here, so what causing it? It was as if there was _nothing_ for the pose to lock on to. Also, why hadn't it pointed at the island even before they came here? Islands didn't just appear from thin air, especially not islands where the sunset came six hours early.

Sanji was trying to focus on making the crew's meal, and succeeding for the most part. The only problem was his thoughts kept leading back to the Older Mosshead. Why was he blind in his left eye? The scar on his face looked old, so did that mean if this guy really some sort of time traveler, it would happen the Younger Mosshead fairly soon? What if it happened while they were in Alabasta? The Mosshead was an idiot, so Sanji could see him losing an eye doing something stupid for the good of the crew. He didn't care about that sword-obsessed moron, but the idea didn't sit with him well. And then there was all that talk of Luffy _not_ having a chest scar. Going off the description the older sword freak gave, the scar sounded nasty and painful. What would happen to Luffy? What would happen to their crew in general?

Luffy... was Luffy. He was too busy trying to get food from Sanji to really think about Older Zoro. Besides, like he said, what was there to think? Zoro was Zoro. This older one shouldn't be that different. Zoro was his crewmate, so he wouldn't change too much in the next couple years or so... right?

Chopper was also thinking about Zoro's eye. He was still the ship's doctor in the future, wasn't he? Why would he let something like this happen? Had he been unable to doing something as simple as save a crewmate's eye? Chopper had to admit, their own swordsman scared him a little. The older swordsman scared him even more. However, a crewmate was a crewmate, even if he was scary. He would help him if needed.

Chopper sighed and tightened the last bandage. "There, that should do it. I've replaced the stitches, so as long as you don't strain yourself further, they should hold."

Older Zoro rotated his shoulder, then reached for his boots, which were still laying on his folded coat. "Thanks, Chopper. You did a good job."

Chopper blushed furiously under his fur and danced happily. "Shut up, you jerk! Don't think you can butter me up like that, you idiot!"

Older Zoro smirked, but you could see the fondness in it. With his boots laced up on to his feet, the older swordsman stood up and put his coat back on. After which, he retied the bandanna around his bicep and the red sash around his waist. His three swords were immediately tied into the sash as well.

"That black one is different than the one our Zoro has," Usopp found himself saying. "What happened to the other one?"

"It died," Older Zoro replied simply, sitting back down.

"Oh, okay."

So, Zoro as a twenty-one-year-old was still as tight-lipped as ever. Usopp had a feeling the swordsman wouldn't go into detail even if he asked.

"Food's ready!" Sanji announced, holding Luffy away with an extended leg. "Someone go get Mosshead out of the crow's nest."

Luffy left to do just that, since the sooner Younger Zoro was there, the sooner he could eat. The galley once again fell into an uncomfortable silence. Older Zoro didn't appear to have any better ideas of what to say than anybody else, so he too was staying quiet. Sanji began handing out plates (naturally giving Nami and Vivi theirs first), and it wasn't long before Luffy returned with the Younger Zoro.

Luffy ran to his seat and immediately began digging into the plate Sanji set before him, but Younger Zoro paused for a moment, glancing at his older self. The two swordsmen made brief eye contact before the younger one tore his gaze away and took his seat.

Soon everyone had their food (except Sanji, who was playing waiter) and they began to eat. The galley was still unnaturally quiet, save for the sounds of Luffy eating to his heart's content and the crew guarding their own food with their utensils. Older Zoro did a particularly impressive maneuver with his fork at one point to knock away Luffy's hand from his meat. Anyone could tell it was a move well practiced.

Speaking of eating, Older Zoro stopped and stared at his food quizzically.

"Something wrong, Other Mosshead?" Sanji asked, raising one curly eyebrow.

"Nothing," Older Zoro replied. "I just forgot how bad your food used to be."

"SAY THAT AGAIN, SWORD FREAK!" Sanji hollered, rearing back his leg to kick the elder swordsman.

"Sanji, we're eating!" Nami scolded.

"Sorry, Nami-swaaaaaan~!"

"Besides, he said 'used' to be. That implies you're food gets better, at least to him, right?"

"I wouldn't say 'better,'" Older Zoro said, taking of sip of sake. "Maybe 'not _as_ bad,' but not 'better.'"

Sanji reared back his leg once again, but another scolding from Nami put an end to that before it even started.

"So, the fact that you're referring to Sanji's food in the past tense means you really believe you're some kind of time traveler?" Vivi asked as she tossed an apple to Carue. The duck took it and went go eat it in the corner.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense," Older Zoro said with a shrug. "I'd know if this were an illusion, the chances of us all dreaming is unlikely, and you can't all be shape-shifters. Still, as far as weirdness goes, time travel really takes the cake. And I've been through a lot of weird crap in the last few years."

"Ooh, ooh!" Luffy said suddenly, food spraying from his mouth.

"What is it, Luffy?" Younger Zoro asked.

"I have a question for Other Zoro!" Luffy announced. He turned his head toward the older swordsman. "Why do you call Crocodile, 'sand croc?' It's a really funny nickname."

"Who's Crocodile?" Chopper asked. He was never answered when he asked it earlier.

"He's this evil guy Luffy needs to beat up to save Vivi's country," Usopp replied. "Naturally I offered to do so first, but being the generous soul I am, I decided to let Luffy have the limelight this time..."

"Wow, really?" Chopper gasped.

Older Zoro stared at the sniper with a tinge of annoyance, but ignored him and went to answer his young captain.

"You came up with it, because the guy ate the Sand Sand Fruit," he explained. He took a bite of food. "It's a devil fruit that allows him to turn into sand. Convenient, given he tried to take over a desert country."

"There's a devil fruit that can do that?" Usopp asked. He could only imagine how hard it would be to attack_ sand_.

"They have a devil fruit for just about everything," Older Zoro replied. He frowned and muttered, "Never could stand Logias."

The elder swordsman sounded slightly bitter with that last sentence but no one called him out on it. Or asked what a Logia was. Luffy was content with the answer, and Vivi tucked away that nugget of information for later. This led to another few minutes of quiet eating, and a few glances from both swordsman. The Older Zoro kept glancing at Luffy and occasionally his younger self, while the Younger Zoro kept glancing at his older self. Finally after a solid five minutes, Nami spoke up.

"Um, hey, Zoro?" she said.

"Yes?" both Zoros replied in unison.

Nami sweatdropped. "Okay, that's going to be a problem. We can't call both of you Zoro, or things are going to get really confusing. We need to call one of you something different."

"Oh, I have the perfect names!" Luffy said excitedly. "We'll call them Zoro-chan and Zoro-ossan!"

"Who are are calling _chan_?!" Younger Zoro shouted.

"Who are you calling an _old man_?!" Older Zoro shouted.

"Don't worry captain, I have excellent names we can call them," Sanji said. He placed a hand on Younger Zoro's head. "Idiot Mosshead." He placed his other hand on Older Zoro's head. "Bigger Idiot Mosshead."

The Zoros knocked Sanji's hands away, both snarling, "YOU WANT TO DIE, SWIRLS?!"

_Great, they're already on the same wavelength_, Nami thought. She stood up and knocked both swordsmen on the head, since they had been about to draw their swords on the cook. "ENOUGH! I'll decide what we call you!"

Both Zoros fell to the ground, large bumps forming on their noggins. Chopper squealed that the older one was still injured, but it went unheard by a furious Nami.

"Nami is by far the strongest," Usopp whispered.

Chopper nodded in fear. "I agree."

The two Zoros sat up, breaking through the pained stupor induced by their navigator.

_Kuina, you were dead wrong when you said girls don't become as strong as boys_, Younger Zoro thought, rubbing his head-lump.

_There's no way she should be able to hit me that hard_, Older Zoro thought, standing back up and reclaiming his seat. _She has got to have Haki_.

"Now!" Nami yelled. She pointed at Younger Zoro, who was also back in his seat. "We'll just keep calling you 'Zoro.'" She pointed at Older Zoro. "As for you, we'll call you 'Roronoa.' Sound good to you?"

Zoro and the newly dubbed Roronoa both agreed. It was better than Sanji and Luffy's suggestions, anyway.

Nami cleared her throat and sat back down. "Hmph. As I was saying... _Roronoa_, you said you were twenty one, right?"

Roronoa nodded. "That's right."

"So that means that if you really are a time traveler, then you're from two years in the future?"

"Give or take a year. It really depends on where we are."

Nami cocked her head. "Eh?"

"Just tell me the most recent thing that has happened to you all," Roronoa said, taking a draft from his tankard. "I'm trying to figure out how far back I've gone."

"Well, we left Drum Island two days ago," Vivi offered.

Roronoa spit out his sake. After which he went into a coughing fit because some had managed to slide down the wrong pipe anyway. Luffy pounded his back, and the coughs subsided.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Vivi apologized. "Are you alright? Was it something I said?"

"No need to apologize to the Bigger Idiot Mosshead, Vivi dear," Sanji said, patting her shoulder. "He's obviously so stupid that he doesn't know which pipe drinks are supposed to go down."

Zoro and Roronoa gave the cook a scathing glare, the latter's looking even more intimidating with the missing eye. Sanji suddenly felt very uncomfortable and thankfully shut up.

Instead of taking the cook's bait, Roronoa said, "It wasn't you, Vivi. It's just that... you guys seriously left Drum only two days ago?"

"Yeah, after being chased down the Drum Rockies by a homicidal witch doctor," Usopp said with a shiver. "What about it?"

"That's just brilliant," Roronoa muttered bitterly. "After all that effort to get to the New World, we're practically back where we started! Oh, the others are just going to _love_ this..."

"The New World?" Nami echoed.

"I've heard of that," Vivi spoke up. "It's what they call the second half of the Grand Line. Most pirate crews die before they make it there, and those who do make it are said to be the best of the best."

The crew took a moment to let those words sink in.

"The best of the best, huh?" Zoro said. He grinned. "I like the sound of that."

"As do I!" Usopp said proudly. "Of course, with the Great Captain Usopp on board, making it to the New World is the least we can do!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at Usopp's boast, except for Luffy and Chopper of course. Roronoa was once again giving the sniper an annoyed look. Annoyed... with a dash of something that was akin to a reprimand. Usopp felt compelled to ask why he kept looking at him like that, but forced the urge down.

"We're the best?" Chopper gasped. His eyes widened. "Does that mean I've found my cure for all diseases?!"

"Well-" Roronoa began.

"Have we come across the All Blue yet?" Sanji found himself asking.

"Sanji!" Nami scolded.

"Sorry, Nami! It slipped out!"

"You said Luffy defeated Crocodile!" Vivi blurted out. "Do I succeed in convincing the rebel army to stop the fighting?"

"Vivi, they-" Roronoa began again.

"Did we ever find Ebalf?" Usopp asked. He gasped and leaned forward on the table. "Has Luffy already become the Pirate King?"

If Roronoa was planning on answering any of their questions, he never got the chance to for Luffy decided to interrupt.

"STOP IT!" Luffy hollered, slamming his hand against the table. "NO ONE ASK HIM ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

* * *

Everyone fell deathly silent and looked shocked at their captain's outburst, except for Zoro. He had a stoic expression on his face, as if waiting to see what Luffy was going to do next. His older self had a similar expression, only his looked more interested.

"Stop asking him stuff like that," Luffy said sternly. "Got it, guys?"

"We got it," Nami said slowly. "But why are you so upset?

"He's upset because if I tell you about all our future adventures, it'll take the fun out of living them for yourselves."

Everyone turned to looked at the future swordsmen, who was casually resting his chin in his hand.

Roronoa gave Luffy a knowing smirk. "That would be boring, and you don't want any boring adventures, now do you Captain?"

"You got that right," Luffy confirmed. "I'd quit being a pirate before going on a boring journey."

The older swordsman grinned, for that was the answer he had been expecting. "That's what I thought." Roronoa straightened out and crossed his arms. "Sorry, but if you guys want to know your futures, you'll just have to wait and live them out yourselves."

Everyone looked a little sheepish. They supposed they got a little caught up in the moment there. While they were curious about their futures, and not just in the ways they mentioned, Luffy and Roronoa had a point.

"Sorry, Luffy," Usopp apologized. "We got carried away."

"Yeah, me too," Chopper apologized as well. "I'll wait for my all-purpose cure. I don't mind."

"Good," Luffy said with a serious nod. "Now, bring me more meat."

And thus returned the blunt, one-track-minded idiot for a captain they all knew and loved. Only Monkey D. Luffy could bring such a serious situation back to the topic of meat.

Sanji knocked the rubber boy in the head. "You've had enough already! What we have has to last us until Alabasta you know!"

"Stingy!" Luffy grumbled.

Sanji rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette. After taking a drag, he turned to Roronoa. "Speaking of knowing the future, how come you didn't see this coming?"

Roronoa raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

The chef jerked a thumb at Zoro. "Since you're Zoro from the future, then it stands to reason that you've already experienced all of this. Can you tell us anything about this island?"

"I see where you're coming from, but your logic is flawed," Roronoa replied. "I have no memory of ever meeting an older version of myself when I was nineteen, and I especially don't remember visiting this weird island after leaving Drum."

"That's impossible," Zoro said. "I think I'd remember something like this happening."

"Maybe you're just stupid," Luffy offered sincerely.

"I don't want to hear that from you!"

"It doesn't matter if it's impossible," Roronoa said. "I remember that we never visited any islands after Drum, and didn't even touch dry land until we weighed anchor in Nanohana."

"Nanohana?" Sanji asked.

"It's a city in Alabasta. It should be the first place we visit when we arrive there," Vivi clarified. "We'll get back to the memory problem later. What I don't get is how future Mr. Bushido is even here on this island." She turned to Roronoa. "You said your crew was in the New World, correct?"

"Yeah, we were," the older swordsman replied.

"And we were in the first half of the Grand Line," Nami said. "How can the same island exist in two different places? It doesn't make sense."

"Neither does having a nineteen year old version and a twenty one year old version of your swordsman in the same room, but here we are," Zoro pointed out.

"Exactly! I'm still trying to figure that out, on top the whole sunset-at-noon issue!"

Roronoa frowned at Nami's words. What was it that brat said?

"Time does whatever it wants here," he whispered to himself.

"What does that mean?" Usopp asked.

"I don't really know myself," Roronoa admitted. "Remember when I said after one of my crewmates got himself lost, I went looking for him and had to duel some creepy witch? Well, right before that, I met this little brat who kept swinging around in the trees. And she said that on this island, time does pretty much whatever it wants."

"So there _are_ people living here?" Chopper gasped.

"I saw just the one kid, but she seemed to know enough about this place to be local. She left before I got any real answers though."

"If this kid knows something we don't, maybe we should try to find her," Zoro suggested. "She might have the answers to why Roronoa's here or why the sunset is so freaky."

"Not to mention why all that fruit was ripe at the same time," Sanji added. "I don't know this kid, but she's right about time doing what it wants. It's not following what standards we consider normal."

"Then it's settled!" Luffy decided. "We'll go out and find this mystery kid, then make her tell us about the mystery island!"

"Luffy, it's dark out," Chopper pointed out. "We'd never be able to find her in the jungle at night."

Luffy crossed his arms. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yosh! Then we'll find her at sunrise!"

"Sounds like a plan, Luffy. Now, Mr. Bushido, can you tell us how you arrived at this island?" Vivi asked the elder swordsman. "It might help us get an idea as to what's going on."

Roronoa scratched his head. "Let's see... we left Dock Island the other day and were basically just following the pose. I remember being asleep-"

"Of course you were," Sanji muttered.

"Shut up. As I was saying, I remember being asleep until I heard Nami screeching at me to get up and help deflect cannonballs. Apparently, a ship of bounty hunters showed up and had begun firing at at us. While we were trying to escape, the ship got caught in a current that was pulling us toward an island covered in fog."

"That's what happened to us!" Luffy said. "The Merry got caught in a mystery current and that's why we're here! Was your log pose not pointing at it either?"

Roronoa looked a little surprised by the question. "Um, yeah. At least, that's was Nami was saying while yelling at us to pick up the pace. She kept shrieking that the island just appeared out of nowhere, and none of the log pose needles were pointing to it-"

"Needles? Plural?" Nami asked.

"We have to use a different log pose in the New World," he explained. "I don't know the specific details, but the log pose has three needles to help navigate the many different islands there. Each needle points to a different island, I guess."

Zoro, Usopp, and Nami remembered Luffy's idea about the triple pose earlier that day. He had been _right_?

"Hey, we found something like that on beach today," Luffy said. "I accidentally kicked it into Nami's head. Nami, show him."

Nami reached into her pocket and pulled out the triple pose. "Like Luffy said, we found it on the beach. I've been comparing it my pose, and all the needles keep spinning. I have been trying to theorize why and it's almost as if-"

Roronoa didn't wait for her to finish. He snatched the triple pose or rather, New World Log Pose, right out of her hands. Nami protested, but he ignored her, instead examining the pose that was now in his hands.

"Oi, Bigger Idiot Mosshead, what was that for?" Sanji shouted. "Apologize to Nami, right now!"

Roronoa didn't apologize. He frowned and said (mostly to himself), "She would never just drop this. She never lets it out of her sight..."

"Who would never drop it?" Vivi asked. "Mr. Bushido, what's wrong?"

This New World Log Pose wasn't just any New World Log Pose, Roronoa could see that much. And he knew its owner wouldn't have left it lying on the beach unless something was very, very wrong.

Roronoa stuffed the pose into his haramaki and stood up. Without so much as another word, he walked out of the galley, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

**Next Time:**

"These guys are _New World_ bounty hunters," Roronoa snapped. "You guys are not ready for that kind of enemy yet!"

"Come on, how tough can they be?" Sanji said. "We've kicked the asses of the biggest names in the East Blue and have managed to survive the Grand Line so far. Maybe these bounty hunters are a challenge to a cyclops like you, but we can handle ourselves."

"CYCLOPS-?" Roronoa began to yell and draw his black sword, but he stopped and rubbed his temple. "Okay, you know what? Forget it. I'm not wasting my time fighting someone weaker than me."

"WEAKER?!"


	6. Two Years Make All the Difference

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or it's characters. I only own my OCs.**

**So, two chapters in two days! That has got to be some kind of record. Of course, this means I might not update for awhile. I have a lot on my plate in the coming weeks. But I will be back! **

**If you all like how I write One Piece, be sure to check out my other stories: "Once Burned," "Questionable Conscience," and "A Short Dedication to Fire Fist Ace."**

**Oh, and if you've all been wondering how the 3D2Y Straw Hats arrived on K****āla, just wait. It will be elaborated on later in the story, no worries. ********  
**

******And, to be clear: ********Past Zoro- Zoro. Future Zoro- Roronoa.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Two Years Make All the Difference**

* * *

**Time: Night in the Afternoon  
****Location: Undisclosed Area of Jungle on Kāla**

"Where'd she go?"

"She was right there, I swear!"

"Find her! She's worth a lot of berris, so we can't afford to let her go!"

"Yeah, the boss will reward us for sure if we bring her _and_ the treasure in!"

She remained high in the tree branches, waiting for her pursuers to leave. It was troublesome that the bounty hunters had followed them on to the island, but she had years of practice evading capture. Giving a group of expendable lackeys the slip was child's play at best.

As she waited for the men to stop their search, she turned her attention to the matter at hand. She had to admit, the sudden nightfall was peculiar. It was the second one in the last twelve or so hours, and both times, the phase of the moon had been different. First a waning gibbous, then a waxing crescent. It certainly was strange, going from day to night to day to night again.

In fact, the island was strange as a whole, but that wasn't going to stop her. During her escape from the bounty hunters, she had heard an interesting tidbit of information while hiding behind a giant tree root. (She liked these trees. They reminded her of the ones on Skypeia.) The lackeys spoke of finding a treasure, and had called this island "Kāla." If this truly was the legendary island of Kāla, then there had to be some ruins somewhere. She could only imagine what she could learn here, given the chance. She might even be able to move forward in completing her dream, so she had to at least try.

She could only hope, of course, that none of her friends had gotten themselves captured by bounty hunters or eaten by one of the freshwater Sea Kings. That would be unfortunate. They were probably fine, though.

"Hey, there she is!"

"She's up in that tree!"

Oh, they had spotted her. She had been hoping to avoid a confrontation, but it looked like they weren't giving her a choice. Now, if only the bounty hunters would stop being so noisy. They were going to alert others of her position this way. She would have to remedy that.

"_Clutch._"

* * *

**Time: Night in the Afternoon  
****Location: The Going Merry**

"Zoro-ossan, wait up!" Luffy said, coming out of the galley door. "Where are you going?"

The rest of the crew followed their captain out on to the deck as well. It was still night out, and the stars twinkled brightly in the sky. Roronoa was already halfway across the deck, heading directly for the railing. Luckily, he stopped his stride and turned to face the Straw Hats.

"I've wasted enough time here," he replied, resting one hand on his swords. "Thanks for the food, but I really should be on my way."

"Y-You're leaving?" Choppered stuttered. "You can't leave yet! Your shoulder-"

"-Is not that big a deal," Roronoa finished for the reindeer. "I'll have my crew's Chopper look at it when I find him, okay? See ya."

"What do you mean, 'when you find him'?" Luffy asked, crossing his arms. "Don't you know where your crew is?"

Roronoa had been in the process of turning to leave again, but halted. He sighed. "No, I don't. We all split up to explore the island, except for the one crewmate who stayed behind to watch the ship. I went with someone, but he got lost. I need to go and find them now. I know they can usually handle themselves, but this time..."

"Does it have anything to do with that triple pose?" Vivi asked. "You looked really grim when you saw it."

Roronoa reached into his haramaki and removed the New World Log Pose, holding up so everyone could see it.

"You see this?" he asked. They all nodded. "Good. It belongs to Nami."

"Yeah, you ripped it right out of her hands," Sanji said, sounding angry. Mosshead never did apologize.

"Not_ that_ Nami!" Roronoa shouted, pointing at Nami. "I meant _my_ Nami!"

A look of sheer horror spread on Nami and Zoro's faces, and Sanji looked ready to faint dead away. It was then Roronoa realized how weird that had probably sounded. They didn't seriously think that...?

"You numbskulls, I don't mean _my_ as in-!" He groaned. "I meant_ my crew's_ Nami! As in the one that's twenty, not eighteen! We're not- we would never- _geez_!"

Zoro, Nami, and Sanji visibly relaxed. Luffy laughed, though he probably didn't even get what the problem had been.

"Thank heavens," Usopp said, wiping his brow in relief. "Can you imagine how awkward that would have been?"

"I don't get it," Chopper said, confused.

Usopp patted his head. "It's a human thing."

"Ahem!" Vivi cleared her throat. "Now that that's cleared up, you were saying, Mr. Bushido? The triple pose belongs to future Nami?"

Roronoa regained his composure and nodded. "Yeah, it's one she uses to navigate the New World. She never lets this thing out of her sight." He turned to his young captain. "And you said you found it lying in the sand?"

"Yeah, it was buried under the sand," Luffy replied. "It's weird that Nami would just drop her log pose. Is she really forgetful in the future?"

"You dummy," Nami sighed. "I would never just _drop_ my log pose."

"Exactly," Roronoa said. He tucked the pose back into his haramaki. "You wouldn't have lost this unless something happened to you. I did tell you bounty hunters were following us when my crew came here, and I don't need to be a genius to know they have something to do with it."

"Was one of these bounty hunters the one you fought in the jungle? You keep bringing up a witch or something," Sanji said. He thought for a moment. "Was she pretty?"

"Think with your other head, cook," Roronoa said flatly. "How should I know if she was pretty? I was a little busy trying to keep from being _decapitated_ to pay attention to something like that. I can tell you she was a swordsman, and a good one."

"You lost to a_ girl_?" Usopp snickered.

That earned him a dirty look from Vivi and Nami, so he stopped snickering.

"I didn't lose!" Zoro snapped. He paused. "I mean, _he_ didn't lose! He said some other hunter showed up and hit him with the tranqs. Right?"

"Right," the older swordsman confirmed. "I was winning that fight until he showed up. And don't underestimate a girl, Usopp. They can kick your rear just as easily as any man. But I digress. The point is that these people were nothing to sneeze at. The witch was fast enough to keep me on my toes, not to mention she had a real pain of a devil fruit ability. Literally. And the red-eyed freak with the tranqs was clearly an experienced sniper. If there are more like them on this island, I have a feeling my crew is in for a rough time of it."

"So you want to find them and see if they're alright," Nami summarized.

"In a nutshell. I have faith in my crew's abilities, but this island is not natural. Anything can happen here." A slightly evil looking grin came on his face. "Besides, I owe that witch and red-eyed freak a rematch. It'd be rude not finish our fight, don't you think?"

_That moron!_ Nami thought._ All he's interested in is fighting strong enemies_!

"I see your problem. You're missing your crew, and need to find them," Luffy said thoughtfully. He nodded. "Okay then. We'll help you!"

"No thanks," Roronoa said immediately.

A stunned silence hit the Straw Hats.

"Uh... don't you want to think about it?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah, we can help you look, we don't mind!" Chopper said. What he didn't say aloud was that he was curious in meeting his older self.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't need help," Roronoa said. He turned to leave. "It's best you all stay on the Merry."

"Come on, Zoro-ossan! I want to find our crewmates too!" Luffy said. "We'll get to explore the mystery island and fight bounty hunters together! It'll be fun!"

Roronoa turned on his heel and glared at the rubber boy. "Can you take this seriously? This isn't a game! These people can and_ will_ kill you, if given the chance!"

"So it's okay for you to risk _your_ life, but not us?" Vivi asked.

He gave her a look. "As if you're one to talk, princess."

Vivi flinched, but didn't retort. What did he mean by that?

"Guys, maybe he's right," Usopp said nervously. "These bounty hunters sound really, really dangerous. It might be better for us if we remain here on the Merry."

"It's okay, Usopp. We're strong," Luffy said, flexing his arm and grasping it to emphasize. "I think we can take them."

"I'm with Luffy," Zoro agreed. He flicked one his swords loose with his thumb. "These bounty hunters sound like they'd be interesting to battle. I want to see how strong they are for myself."

"And I'm interested in seeing the lovely lady who gave Future Mosshead a run for his money," Sanji added.

Roronoa felt like tearing his hair out. How could they be so _dense_? This situation was potentially lethal, and all they cared about was _fighting_?

... Holy crap, he was turning into Nami if he was starting to think like that.

"Look, you can't come and that's final!" Roronoa declared. "I'm perfectly capable of finding my friends alone!"

"Says the man who got lost finding his way back to my village," Nami huffed.

"That wasn't my fault! They kept moving the place!"

"You can't _move_ a village! You'd think in two years you'd gain some sort of sense of direction."

"CAN IT, SEA-WITCH!"

"Don't talk to Nami-swan like that, sword freak!" Sanji barked.

Roronoa ignored him. His behavior was making the crew very confused. Why was he so adamant against them helping him? Didn't he remember all the enemies they defeated before? They could fight a group of bounty hunters. Why was he being so stubborn?

"Zoro-ossan, just let us come," Luffy insisted. "Past or future, they're still my friends and I want to find them just as much as you do. I'm willing to fight a few bounty hunters to do that. Besides, your shoulder is still busted and Chopper said you can't strain yourself. You could use the help."

Roronoa rubbed the shoulder in question. "I get that. You just don't understand. These hunters..."

"Understand what?" Chopper asked. "What's bad about these bounty hunters?"

"These guys are _New World_ bounty hunters!" Roronoa snapped. "You all are not ready for that kind of enemy yet!"

Chopper went to hide behind Luffy. Roronoa was scary when he yelled.

"Come on, how tough can they be?" Sanji said, exhaling some smoke. "We've kicked the asses of the biggest names in the East Blue and have managed to survive the Grand Line so far. Maybe these bounty hunters are a challenge to a cyclops like you, but we can handle ourselves."

"CYCLOPS-?!" Roronoa began to yell and draw his black sword, but he stopped and rubbed his temple. "Okay, you know what? Forget it. I'm not wasting my time fighting someone weaker than me."

"WEAKER?!"

"Is that the problem? You think we're too_ weak_?" Zoro asked. He knew ever since that incident with the wax he had to get stronger, but being called weak by someone who was basically your _older self_...

"I don't _think_, I _know_," Roronoa corrected. "I'm completely aware of how strong I was before arriving in Alabasta." There was an icy look in his eye. "You'd last ten minutes in the New World, _if_ you were lucky."

Zoro began to unsheathe Wado. "Care to test that theory?"

Roronoa frowned and crossed his arms. "Didn't I just say I wasn't going to fight someone weaker than me?"

While this exchange occurred between the two swordsmen, Sanji had begun to edge his way on to Roronoa's blind side. So he was weak, huh? Well, how would the Bigger Idiot Mosshead like a kick right to the blind half of his face? Yes, it would be a dirty move on his part, but Sanji was seriously annoyed. He wasn't about to let the older sword freak get away with calling him weak.

"Hold on Zoro, you can't fight yourself!" Usopp shouted.

"Yeah, do have any idea how stupid that sounds?" Nami added.

"Don't fight_ period_!" Chopper squealed. "Roronoa's going to pull his stitches again!"

Luffy said nothing, instead watching his swordsman challenge the future version.

"I'd listen to your friends if I were you," Roronoa said.

"You _are_ me," Zoro pointed out. Roronoa's attitude was getting on his nerves. And somehow, it was oddly familiar...

"In that case, you should be able to recall the last time you underestimated an opponent," Roronoa said. His hand went to his chest. "If_ I_ recall correctly, I almost got cut in half."

Zoro didn't respond to that, except gritting his teeth.

Roronoa narrowed his eye. "If you were a competent swordsman, you'd be able to see the difference in power between us."

Zoro slowly slid Wado back into its sheathe. That last sentence was something of revelation. That's why Roronoa's attitude was familiar; he was acting exactly like Mihawk had back at the Baratie! And like before, every word was pissing him off.

"Zoro-ossan, I don't doubt you can battle these guys by yourself, but that doesn't matter," Luffy spoke up, stepping in front of Zoro. He grinned. "We're going to help you find your crew and take out the bounty hunters, whether you like it or not. So I guess you'll just have to deal with it."

Sanji was in position. He lifted his leg...

"Luffy, this isn't like storming Arlong Park or taking out Don Krieg!" Roronoa shouted. "In those cases, you had at least a vague idea of what you were up against in terms of power. These people will be on a whole other level than you. The New World isn't the East Blue, and it isn't the beginning of the Grand Line either. There's a reason no one's been able to conquer it since Gol D. Roger! You have to be crazy strong to sail there, or you'll die! It's no place for a group of_ overconfident rookies_!"

Sanji's leg shot forward, his kick aimed directly for Roronoa's face. However, it never made contact. Roronoa easily caught the cook's foot in his hand before it could.

"What the_ hell_?!" Sanji shouted.

"Sanji, what are you doing?!" Vivi scolded.

"HE CAUGHT IT?!" Usopp and Chopper exclaimed.

Carue (who had been next to Vivi the entire time) quacked in surprise at well.

"He wasn't even looking!" Nami shouted.

Luffy's eyes widened.

_That came at him from his blind side_, Zoro thought, looking somewhere between shock and awe. _But I saw his hand. It was up before the cook even finished kicking his leg out. Did he... did he somehow know it was coming before it came? My senses are good, but to predict an attack before it's made..._

Sanji pulled his foot free and took a few steps back. "How did you-?"

Roronoa smirked. "What? Don't tell me you seriously thought I wouldn't have figured out a way to compensate for a blind eye. I don't remember you being_ that_ ignorant, Dartboard."

Sanji scowled, pivoted one foot into the deck while kicking out the other one towards Roronoa's chest. "_Poitrine_!"

Roronoa rolled his eye and calmly stepped out of the way of the kick.

Sanji's visible eye widened. He tried again, dropping down to a one-hand handstand. "_Côtelette!"  
_

This time the kick was aimed for his ribs, but Roronoa avoided it, moving only moments before Sanji even attacked. Normally, Sanji would have followed that up with a _Selle_, but the fact that the previous attack didn't make contact meant he didn't have the momentum for it. The cook jumped to his feet and began a series of rapid fire kicks. Roronoa didn't dodge, this time just blocking the kicks with his still-sheathed black sword as they came. To add insult to injury, he did it with only one hand, and by barely moving at all.

Sanji was getting aggravated. How was this possible? If was almost as if Roronoa knew where the kicks would land before he even landed them. Zoro had always been decent at guarding against his attacks, but never at this level. It was evident by the bored expression on Roronoa's face that the swordsman was barely trying, while Sanji was already somewhat out of breath.

Sanji tried one last kick aimed at the older swordsman's face. Roronoa not only avoided it, but he stepped forward and was practically nose-to-nose with the blonde. Before Sanji had a chance to react, Roronoa partially unsheathed his black sword, ramming the hilt right into Sanji's gut. The cook went flying into the mast, hung comically there for a few seconds, then slid to the deck.

"Sanji!" Chopper yelled worriedly. He rushed over to his crewmate's side.

Nobody else moved, only staring at the scene before them. Zoro and Sanji fought all the time, but neither of them ever actually _won_ against each other. Those skirmishes always ended in a draw. Roronoa, however, _had_ won. To bring a duel to a tie, Zoro had to fight on par with Sanji. Roronoa had won by barely even_ trying_.

Zoro's face managed to remain stoic in appearance, but if you really knew him, you'd be able to see that he was on the verge of a major-freak out. How was he able to_ do_ all that just _two years_ later?

"Do you get the idea now?" Roronoa asked, sliding his sword back into his sash. He gestured to Sanji. "The love cook is usually able to at least keep up with my younger self, and I just curb-stomped him."

"You did _not_ curb-stomp me, you-!" Sanji started to argue, before going into a coughing fit. Roronoa's last attack had knocked the wind out of him.

"Stop talking and let me check you over!" Chopper scolded him. "I need to see if you've hurt your back again!"

"I've trained to take on the New World," Roronoa went on, again ignoring Sanji. "If the cook can't even _keep up_ with me anymore, what does that say about your chances with bounty hunters who have most likely been there longer than I have?"

There was no immediate reply. The crew probably didn't know what to say.

"Uh, Luffy?" Nami said at last. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe we should listen to Roronoa. Zoro's strong as it is, but..."

"This guy wasn't even trying!" Usopp yelled panickedly, waving his arm rapidly at Roronoa. "What does that say about other people from the New World?!"

They couldn't see Luffy's expression, for his face was shadowed by his hat. The others didn't know it, but Luffy didn't really care about the beating Sanji just received. Sure, the way Roronoa caught his foot before was cool. However, his mind was too busy repeating the words Roronoa had said before to really appreciate it.

_It's no place for a group of overconfident rookies_!

Or more accurately, the_ way_ he had said those words. He'd obviously been trying to hide it, but he had sounded... _worried_, like he was dreading what would happen if his crew came along. Roronoa may have been from the future, but he was still Zoro. Zoro had only ever sounded like that once before, back when he'd been sure his captain was about to die. Luffy didn't like that Roronoa sounded like that. Not one bit.

"Luffy...?" Vivi asked quietly.

"Zoro-ossan," Luffy said finally. "You're from the future, but I'm still your captain, aren't I?"

Roronoa's expression softened ever so slightly. "Of course you are."

Luffy lifted his head, revealing he was smiling. "Then this is a captain's order. You _have_ to let us come with you and find your crew. No arguing."

Roronoa's eye widened to almost comical size. Luffy was pulling the _captain card_ on him? _Seriously_? Not only was it a low blow, but it was the one card in Luffy's limited psychological deck he had no counter for. A captain's orders were absolute, past or present.

"You're trying to make this hard for me on purpose, aren't you?" Roronoa sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Luffy crossed his arms, still smiling. "It doesn't have to be hard. All you have to do is agree."

Roronoa threw his arms in the air, exasperated. "Okay, _fine_! You all can come, but on one condition. Will you let me have that much?"

"Sure! What's your condition?"

"You can't fight anyone unless I either say it's okay, or you _absolutely_ _have to_." He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Luffy hesitated, shifting his gaze between the hand and Roronoa's face. Finally, he grasped his first crewmate's hand in a firm grip.

"Deal."

* * *

Vivi yawned, making her way from the girl's room to the galley. It was still technically the afternoon, but she was as tired as she would be staying up all night.

Not surprising, really. The day had been exhausting as a whole. First getting dragged to this island, then finding Roronoa on said island, and everything that had occurred after their dinner-for-lunch.

Once the deal between Luffy and Roronoa had been struck, Tony announced that Sanji's back was fine except for a slight bruising, and Roronoa hadn't pulled any stitches loose. Sanji, naturally, tried to avenge his humiliating defeat. Only instead of attacking Roronoa, he planted kick straight into Mr. Bushido's stomach. The crew left those two to work out their differences themselves, and returned to the galley to finish their now cold food. Most of it ended up going to Luffy. Afterwards, Roronoa had wanted to start the search for his crew right away, but Nami pointed out Tony's earlier point of it being too dark. They would never find anyone in the jungle at night. It took a little talking down and threats of raising his debt, but the elder swordsman eventually agreed to it. By that point, everyone was both mentally and physically exhausted, so it was unanimously agreed that they would go to bed and start their search the next time the sun rose. Whenever that would be, anyway. With this island, who could tell?

Nami and Carue conked out almost right away, but Vivi was having a harder time with it. She was very tired, but her body knew it was still the afternoon and refused to fall asleep. She had decided to head down to the galley and have a cup of the tea Sanji had brewed before going to bed himself (His fight with Zoro ended in a draw, of course, though both had been fighting harder than usual). Maybe it would help her sleep.

She climbed up the ladder leading up to the deck and pushed the trapdoor open. Sure enough, it was still night out. She sighed, pulled herself up onto the deck, and started making her way to the galley.

"What are you still doing up?"

Vivi jumped about a foot at the sudden deep voice. She turned to see Roronoa lying against the railing, arms behind his head.

"I could ask the same of you, Mr. Bushido!" Vivi panted, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. "I thought you went to sleep in the boys' room hours ago!"

Roronoa shrugged. "Couldn't fall asleep, so I came up here."

Vivi raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You, _Roronoa Zoro_, couldn't fall asleep."

"So you_ do_ know how to say my name," he said with a slightly derisive smirk. It quickly faded and he shrugged again. "It's too quiet around here. You'd be surprised by the gap three missing voices leave."

Vivi blinked, confused. "Missing voices...?"

"Never mind," he sighed. "Forget I said anything. So what about you? What are you doing on deck?"

"I couldn't sleep either," she admitted.

"I'm not surprised. It's technically only 3 in the afternoon."

"Yes, I know. I figured I'd go get myself a cup of tea. Do you want one too?"

"Nah, I'm good. Hope it helps."

"Thank you."

She moved on ahead and was about to open the galley door, when she stopped. A question had been nagging at the back of her mind for hours now, and since Roronoa was just sitting there all alone, now would be a perfect time to ask. She slowly walked back over to him, and saw his eye was now closed.

"Mr. Bushido?" she said softly.

Roronoa's eye cracked open. "Hmm?"

She put her hands behind her back. "Remember earlier, when I asked why we couldn't also risk our lives if you were going to?"

He lowered his arms and sat up a little straighter. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, I was just wondering what you meant when you said I shouldn't be one to talk."

Roronoa gazed up at her for a long time, before exhaling through his nose and leaning back again.

"You're too self-sacrificing, Vivi," he said, closing his eye. "But then again, I guess I'm not one to talk either."

Vivi crossed her arms. "You're not going to give me a straight answer, are you?"

"Nope."

"Jerk."

"Completely nice guys don't become pirates. Given you were a bounty hunter for two years, I think you'd know that already."

Vivi frowned, but decided not push it. The fact he wasn't giving her a straight answer meant that it fell under the category of "The Future," and Luffy had ordered them not to ask about that anymore.

"Alright," she sighed. "Thanks anyway. Good night."

"'Night."

Vivi entered the galley and closed the door quietly behind her. Once she was gone, Roronoa opened his eye and stood up. He walked over to the mast and looked up.

"You coming down," he called up to the crow's nest, "or are you going to stay up there acting like you haven't been listening in all night?"

A minute later, the crow's nest's occupant jumped down to the deck. It was none other than Zoro.

"When did you figure out I was up there?" the younger swordsman asked, standing up straight.

"I knew from the moment I came on deck," Roronoa replied. "Care to explain why you were spying on me?"

"You're me; _you_ tell _me_ why."

"... You don't trust me."

It wasn't a question. It was a solid fact and both swordsmen knew it.

"You got that right," Zoro said with a scowl. "I know you're hiding something from us, and it's not a future adventure or whatever. Don't think I haven't noticed all the looks you've been giving Luffy."

Roronoa didn't reply.

"So, care to tell _me_ why _you_ keep glancing at Luffy with such a guilty look in your eye?" Zoro asked, his tone venomous.

Roronoa's hand slipped down to his Wado Ichimonji. Not in a threatening way, but more in a "just making sure it's there" way. Zoro recognized the gesture. He did the exact same thing when he was either thinking of Kuina...

... Or thinking about his promise to Luffy.

"When we were in the fog, we heard voices," Zoro continued. "Voices of people we knew, people we didn't know, and our own. I heard my voice say I couldn't protect my captain. Does that have anything to do with it? What exactly about my crew's future _do you represent_?"

The elder swordsman's gaze grew steely as he looked sharply down at his younger counterpart (Roronoa was a good inch or two taller). Zoro's mouth suddenly felt dry. The air around them felt thick and heavy.

"Don't make assumptions about events you know nothing about, brat," Roronoa said coldly.

Roronoa turned on his heel and stepped away from the younger swordsman. He then started climbing up to the crow's nest. About halfway up, he looked back down at Zoro.

"Once I find my crew, you never have to worry about me again. Or for the next two years, at least. Now get to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

Roronoa climbed into the crow's nest, leaving Zoro standing there. The younger swordsman did eventually go to bed, but he didn't get much sleep. He couldn't get his older self's steel gaze out of his mind.

It was the gaze of a man who had been cracked in several places and welded back together. A man who had not quite been broken, but came pretty close. And that alone shook Zoro down to his very core.

* * *

**Next Time:**

_The paper kept getting farther and farther. Luffy reached out for it... then he suddenly felt a strong heat come straight for him. He looked up to what looked like a fist, only it was gloppy and burning. Whatever it was, Luffy didn't have to be a genius to know that if it hit him, it was going to hurt._

_Then out of nowhere, the fist stopped. Red beads scattered..._

_...and fire and blood were the only things Luffy could see._


	7. Operation SAVE THE FUTURE

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Binks' Sake, or its affiliated characters/songs.**

**Get ready, ya'll. This is gonna be a long one, t****hough I doubt you'll be complaining. However I hope you appreciate that this turned out to be one of those chapters you rewrite 30 times before you're even half-way satisfied with it. This went through a million edits, and ended up in copping out that preview I provided with the SOPA announcement (it's not gone forever. It'll be back when the situation calls for it, no worries!). Speaking of which, there's a new petition out that will end any future SOPA-like bills. The link is in my profile, go sign it!**

**Note: I know I promised they would meet Brook in this chapter, but it didn't work out like that in my constant revisions. I went back and changed the next chapter preview for this chapter. I promise, Brook will appear for real without fail in chapter 7!**

**Note 2: I did not come up with the idea of the Nerve Nerve Fruit! I based this version loosely off a version I read in another fanfic. They'll be similar, but still very different.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Operation SAVE THE FUTURE and Other Machinations**

* * *

******Time: Daybreak at Night**  
**Location: Undisclosed Part of Kāla**

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Bodies. Bodies were scattered everywhere in this section of the jungle. Some were dead, most were not thankfully. But all had their spines bent at impossible angles.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Erity shouted, tugging at her hair. "What the heck wiped out Delta Unit?!"

No one made an effort to answer her though. Yari just adjusted the position of her parasol, while Runo poked one of the dead bodies with a stick. Gamma Unit stood back, watching the scene with a careful eye.

Erity knelt down next to one of the live ones. "Tell me who did this to you. _Now_."

The man choked. It was difficult to breathe, let alone speak. "I.. don't.. know. Extra arms.. from our... bodies... appeared out of.. nowhere."

Erity frowned. Extra arms?

"That would be the Demon of Ohara," Yari clarified, as if reading Erity's mind. "I heard she has the abilities of the Flower Flower Fruit. It's very useful for incapacitating many enemies at once." She grinned eerily. "I've seen her wanted poster. She'd make a lovely doll."

"Oh, come off it!" Erity snapped. "We don't have time to indulge in your sick interests! Can't you see this is a problem? We just lost about 35 of our men!"

"Then they were weak," Runo said, standing up and tossing his stick aside. "The boss would have killed them himself if the Devil Child hadn't gotten to them first. We have no use for toys that can't play rough."

Erity put her hands on her hips. "You guys and your obsessions with dolls and toys. What, did kids not play with you two much when you were young?"

Runo and Yari were immediately on their knees, an aura of depression hanging over their heads.

"How did she_ know_ that?" they said together.

_Idiots_, Erity thought with a sweatdrop.

"Enough of this crap!" a member of Gamma Unit yelled. "We've had it!"

Erity turned to look at the speaker. It was one of the newer members of the unit. (In fact, Gamma Unit was almost entirely made of up of mostly new people. They had only been sailing with the boss for about a week.) Rico, she believed his name was.

"We've been searching for this treasure for more than eight hours!" Rico went on. "And so far, we've found absolutely nothing!"

"Well, maybe we would've made more progress," Erity ground out. She glared at Runo and Yari. "If_ some people_ hadn't gotten caught by giant venus flytraps _thirteen times_!"

"Oi, it wasn't thirteen times!" Runo protested, jumping to his feet. He crossed his arms. "It was _twelve_ times. We got out of the way with the last one."

"Shut up!" Rico snarled. "I'm sick of listening to you three argue, and I'm sick of watching you get owned by some coward sniper with freaky ammunition! We're done taking orders from you, and we're done searching for some stupid treasure that probably doesn't even exist!"

Behind Rico, the members of Gamma Unit were all holding up their weapons and sharing identical smug smirks.

Yari stood up and said in a bored tone, "Please don't tell that after all this time, you're just_ now_ deciding to mutiny."

"They weren't with us for _that_ long," Erity said. "However, I'm with you on the irregularity of this. If he wanted a mutiny, he should've done it after a few years, so we'd trust him more and never see it coming."

Rico held out his sword. "You think we're not serious? Just you wait. We'll kill the three of you, and then we're going after the Straw Hats. Their bounties will keep us set for life."

Runo grinned ferally and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I don't recall the boss hiring so many ignorant fools into his little troupe. Looks like some reeducation is in order."

"Erity, do you mind if we handle this?" Yari said, closing her parasol. "I haven't have a good fight since Vaughan interrupted my duel with the Pirate Hunter."

Erity waved her hand. "Be my guest. Just make it quick."

Rico gave a loud battle cry, charging directly at Yari. He wasn't going to be dismissed so casually! He would show them he meant business!

Yari just stood calmly.

"_Nerf Coupé..._" Yari muttered, holding her parasol upside down.

She lept forward, planting her palm on Rico's face , then vaulting herself into the air by springing off his head.

"_...Fleuve Douloureuse!_"

It happened so quickly, anyone who didn't have Haki wouldn't have been able to see it. Rico had stopped charging, and now just stood there with his sword. Yari was back on the ground, brandishing her _shikomizue_ sword- which she had drawn from its hidden spot in her parasol- out in front of her.

A small cut appeared on Rico's shoulder. It wasn't deep, and it barely bled at all. However, it caused Rico's eyes to widen to impossible size, and he began to scream. It was a scream filled with hurt and agony, as if Yari had cut the entire arm off instead of just nicking the shoulder. He collapsed, writhing on the ground as he clutched his shoulder. He screamed until he fell silent, either having fallen unconscious, or dead.

"Rico!" a member of Gamma Unit shouted. "What's wrong? A little cut like that shouldn't hurt so much!"

"You witch!" another shouted. "What did you do to Rico?!"

"I just increased the sensitivity of his nociceptors," Yari replied, flicking the drops of blood off her sword. She gave the unit a smug smirk of her own. "That is the power of my Nerve Nerve Fruit."

The mutineers blanched. Being so new to the bounty hunter crew, they had yet to learn of whatever abilities the boss's top members had. This was the first time they had seen Yari use her sword, or her devil fruit powers. It was no secret that devil fruit users from the New World were a breed all their own, so this wasn't going to be easy. That wasn't going to stop them from completing Rico's mission though. The unit charged, weapons armed and ready. They were going to avenge their leader at any cost.

They might've done so too, if Runo hadn't gotten in the way.

Runo cackled wildly, jumping between the 40 or so members of Gamma Unit and Yari. He moved like a beast, kicking, clawing, and scratching everyone who got close. He twisted his torso around nearly 180 degrees to smack away a gun. His hooked his leg over his _own_ shoulder to perform a double spinning flip and kick two guys in the face at once. He picked up two guns and fired behind him by bending his arms unnaturally far back.

Some of the mutineers stared on in horror. What was this guy, part jellyfish? It was as if he had no bones!

"What is with this guy?" one asked.

"Is it a Devil Fruit ability?" another asked.

"I did eat a Devil Fruit," Runo admitted. "But it's not the reason I'm like this. You see-"

"He's triple-jointed," Yari interrupted.

Runo's head slumped forward. The depressed aura was back. "Don't steal my thunder, Yari."

Yari rolled her eyes. "Shut up and fight, Runo."

From that point on, Yari and Runo fought together. Runo's style was completely improvised, and mostly involved him using whatever weapons the defeated dropped. He preferred using the guns though, and had decent aim. Yari cut down whoever came across her, her sword moving with great speed. She usually made only superficial cuts, but those cuts caused her victims to scream until blood ran from their throats. The two were fast, efficient, and deadly.

No wonder they had come "highly recommended." It wasn't long before only ten mutineers remained standing. Barely standing, but standing nonetheless.

"Wanna surrender now?!" Erity called out from the large tree root where she had been hiding on top of.

"Never!" one of the remaining ten shouted back.

"That doesn't work for me," Erity sighed. "I'd tell Runo and Yari to just kill you, but we still have need of your services. Looks like we're going with option B."

"Yes!" Runo cheered. "I love option B!"

With that declaration, Erity and Yari averted their eyes from Runo. The mutineers looked on in confusion. What were they doing?

Runo stood up straight, snapped his fingers, and then began some sort of strange dance that utilized a lot of sudden movements. Immediately, the air around him seemed to shimmer, and his eyes flashed a whole rainbow of colors every few seconds. The colors then started to expand, surrounding his body and mingling with the hazy air. The ten remaining Gammas wanted to look away, but found that they couldn't. The colors, the dance, the shimmery air... it was so amazing to watch.

"Hypno Hypno..." Runo said in a soft, purring tone. He stopped dancing, his arms crossed over his head. "..._Trance_."

The mutineers dropped their weapons. Their faces looked dazed, and their eyes were glassy.

"Here are your orders: Do whatever I say, when I say it. Got it?"

"Yes, Master Runo," the now entranced mutineers replied in unison.

Runo grinned. "Good. Your first orders is to clean up here. The unconscious and dead bodies draw attention away from the natural flora, wouldn't you say?"

The mutineers nodded in unison and began to do just that. Meanwhile, now that the show was over, Erity and Yari could now look at Runo without fear of being affected.

Erity jumped down from the giant tree root. "That's the power of the Hypno Hypno Fruit, huh? I've never actually been around you while you did that. As if you weren't creepy enough."

Runo shrugged and walked over to join the girls. "It's a power that works, and it makes it easy to get new toys, at least."

Erity never liked how Runo referred to his victims as 'toys.' She may have been a merciless bounty hunter, but even she had some standards. What Runo did was one step shy of slavery. The only difference between being hypnotized and being enslaved was with the former, you didn't actually realize you_ were_ a slave. It was twisted and wrong, but the boss never asked Runo to stop, so he kept right on doing it.

Then again, it was preferable compared to what Yari did to create her "dolls." That _had_ to constitute as torture.

"Seeing as the present crisis has passed, I'd like to bring up the issue of the rest of Straw Hats," Yari said, sheathing her sword and opening up the once-again whole parasol. "Rico's a fool, but he had a point. It's ridiculous how we kept falling for the sniper's same attack. Something needs to be done about him and his crew."

"He was also right about their bounties," Runo added. "It's a massive haul. It's shame we stopped chasing them just because we ended up on this island."

Erity thought about that. The Straw Hats did have a collective bounty of 800,000,050 berris. That was a lot of berri and the idea appealed to her. Not counting the ones they had already 'taken care of', that left five Straw Hats to defeat (six if you counted the swordsman. He was most likely still alive, despite taking all those tranquilizer darts). However, there was always the matter of their boss. He would want them to focus on the treasure, not the pirates.

"I'm all for hunting for them," Yari said, interrupting the other girl's thoughts. "But how do you plan on getting the boss to go for it? He's obsessed with finding that treasure."

"Told you the guy had issues," Runo grumbled.

"I think I have a solution," Erity broke in. "Boss wants to find the treasure to impress the higher-ups at Navy HQ, right?"

The Creepy Duo nodded.

"Look at it this way. Just imagine the look on Fleet Admiral's Sakazuki's face if Boss not only brings in the treasure, but also the son of _Dragon_."

Their eyes widened. Their boss would _love_ that. Not only would the Navy reinstate him, they would also probably give him a huge promotion. Not to mention they would get the boy's gigantic bounty along with his crew's. It was no secret Akainu had something of an obsession with bringing in Dragon's son ever since the events of Marineford two years ago, so this would be perfect!

"You are an evil genius, Erity," Runo complimented. "I'm in." He then turned tail and began running into the jungle.

"Where are you going?!" Yari called after him.

"Back to camp! I want to get my toys to help with the hunt!"

Yari rolled her eyes as he ran out of sight. That man was hopeless sometimes. With nothing else to do at the moment, she began supervising the "toys'" clean-up. Meanwhile, Erity reached into her pocket and pulled out the baby Den Den Mushi her boss told her to carry.

_Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ring- clank_.

The Den Den's face took a somewhat annoyed and tired expression.

"_The forces of hell better be biting at your heals,_" Vaughan's voice muttered through the snail. "_Or so help me-_"

"Is it too much to ask for a 'hello'?" Erity said dryly. "What, did I wake you up in the middle of a nap?"

The snail looked sheepish. "_... Maybe._"

"Aren't you supposed to be guarding the brat?"

The baby Den Den's face suddenly looked very indignant, and a new voice came from it. "_Hey, watch who you call a brat, Mohawk New Woman! I should_-"

The angry looked melted into an irritated one as Vaughan's voice returned. "_Gimme that!_" Vaughan sighed. "_Sorry about that. Little snot snatched the receiver right out of my hands. So, how's searching going? You guys have been gone since that first daybreak._"

Erity scowled. "Nothing so far except a slew of aggravating encounters with man-eating plants."

"_Brilliant, and I still can't get Siobhan to spill anything. I can already hear Boss screaming at us after promising not to get angry. However, I doubt you called just to tell me that._"

"You got that right. Can you do me a favor? I need you to get the regular Den Den Mushi and contact the men we still have on the ship. Tell them to start circling the island and to keep an eye out for the Straw Hats' boat."

"O_kay... crap, are we doing what I think we're going to do?_"

For someone who originally said the Straw Hats weren't a priority, Vaughan sure sounded eager.

Erity grinned, but a pulse throbbed angrily on her temple. "Before I confirm your suspicions, let's have a quick chat about the strength of your tranq darts..."

* * *

**Location: Going Merry**

_It was sunset, the fading light painting everything red and gold. All around Luffy, there was nothing but sand, big rocks, and even more sand. _

_Luffy blinked. He didn't know the mystery island had a desert too! Why hadn't Zoro-ossan said anything? Then again, if he was still on the mystery island, wouldn't the sand be pink? Weird._

_He looked over his shoulder to see his crewmates, minus Carue. (Though there was a camel. When did a camel join the crew? That was awesome!) They were all dressed strangely, in long robes and a couple of them wore head coverings. It was then Luffy noticed he was dressed quite similarly. He wore a dark red robe with a blue scarf wrapped several times around his neck._

_"Well then," a voice spoke up. A familiar one._

_Luffy turned back around and gasped. Standing before him, adjusting his beloved orange hat, was none other then his big brother. He was looking at the crew, giving them a warm smile._

Ace?_ Luffy thought._ Is that really him?

_Ace certainly looked different than the last time Luffy saw him (to be expected, given that was three years ago). He was taller and more buff (Ace had always been naturally muscular). His voice was a little deeper too._

_At the moment, Ace was wearing a white scarf and a black robe that had red flame-patterns along the bottom and sleeves. He also wore black shorts, black boots, an orange belt that had the letter 'A' on the buckle, and a sheathed knife. He also carried a green and black patterned bag over his shoulder, and had a log pose around his wrist. Did everyone dress weird in the desert?_

_"You're not really going to leave us Ace, are you?" Luffy heard Chopper say. The little reindeer sounded sad to see Ace go._

_"Yeah," Ace replied. "Seeing how its been confirmed Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta, I have no reason to stick around."_

_"You sure?" Luffy heard himself say. It was like his mouth was speaking of its own accord. He hadn't wanted to say that, he wanted to ask his brother what he was doing here. Were they really in Alabasta? (If it was, no wonder Vivi left. There was nothing but sand.) How could they have gotten to Alabasta so fast?_

_"Any idea where you'll be headed next?" Sanji asked._

_"I have a lead to Blackbeard's whereabouts," Ace said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Scorpion heard about a man who saw him out west. Guess we'll see."_

_Ace tossed the paper over to Luffy, who caught it. Why was Ace giving him this? It was just paper._

_"Luffy, do yourself a favor and hang on to that," Ace instructed. "Always."_

_"But it's just a scrap of paper," Luffy pointed out._

_"That scrap of paper will reunite us someday."_

_"Yeah?"_

_"You don't want it?" Ace teased._

_"No, I'll keep it," Luffy assured him. It wasn't just his mouth this time. Luffy honestly meant it. _

_Ace grinned, only this smile more directed at Luffy's crew than Luffy himself. "It's perfectly natural for a guy to worry about his bumbling kid brother, right?"_

_Luffy's breath hitched. That one of the things Ace's voice had said in the mystery fog._

_"He might be a bit much for all of you to handle," Ace went on. He bowed to the crew. "But take good care of him for me."_

_Luffy's eyes widened. Was Ace... was Ace placing his trust in Luffy's friends?_

_Ace went upright, and gave his little brother a serious look. "Luffy, when next we meet, we'll both be top pirates."_

_Luffy felt himself grin. "Right!"_

_Ace's seriousness melted into a smile. "The top, you and me!_

The top,_ Luffy thought. He looked down at Ace's paper..._

_...And then all of a sudden, the paper wasn't in his hand. It was on the ground several feet away, sliding on the ice._

_Wait. Ice? Where was the sand? And why was Luffy kneeling on the ground? He had been standing a moment ago._

_The paper kept getting farther and farther. Luffy reached out for it... then he suddenly felt a strong heat come straight for him. He looked up to what looked like a fist, only it was gloppy and burning. Whatever it was, Luffy didn't have to be a genius to know that if it hit him, it was going to hurt._

_Then out of nowhere, the fist stopped. Red beads scattered..._

_...and fire and blood were the only things Luffy could see._

Luffy jolted upright and his arms flailed about, causing him to lose his balance and fall right out of his hammock. He bounced onto the floor, landing on his stomach. His hat fell after him, landing neatly onto his back.

He quickly sat up and jammed Hat back on top of his head, but his hand shook the entire time. The dream had started out so nice; what had caused it to become so dark and scary, and end the way it did? He was pretty sure that gloppy burning first hadn't struck him, but then where did all that blood come from?

Had someone jumped in the way? Luffy hoped not. He could count the number of people he thought for sure would do that for him on one hand, and he didn't want any of those people to get hurt for_ his_ sake.

"Uh, Luffy? You awake?"

Luffy looked up. Usopp was looking down at him from the trap door that led out onto the deck.

"Yeah, I'm awake," Luffy called up.

Usopp swallowed. Luffy wasn't sure why, but Usopp was looking at him strangely. The expression was unlike the sniper, and that bothered Luffy.

"Did you need something, or...?" Luffy asked.

Usopp snapped out of his daze. "Oh! No, I didn't need anything. I just came to tell you breakfast's ready. Though it's technically eight at night, so that would make it more like dinner. You coming?"

Luffy nodded and cheered, "FOOD! I'll be right there!"

Usopp smiled halfheartedly and stepped away from the trapdoor.

Luffy sighed and stood up, dusting himself off. That dream had been unnerving at the end, but he wouldn't worry about it. What really got him was what happened in the beginning. He didn't know why, but the part with Ace and being in Alabasta... it felt so_ real_, like it actually happened. But they hadn't even arrived in Alabasta, so it couldn't have possibly happened. Yet, anyway.

Luffy groaned. All this thinking was making his head hurt. If he kept this up, he was going to get a fever.

He climbed up the ladder leading to the trapdoor. It was time for some breakfast-for-dinner.

* * *

"Alright everybody, listen up!" Nami commanded.

The crew was in the galley, in the middle of eating their breakfast-for-dinner. Luffy was digging into his food with the usual vigor, Usopp sat across from him (not really eating with his food, more like just pushing it around on his plate), and Vivi was eating and feeding Carue at the same time. Zoro sat on the far side of the table, as far away as he could from his older self (most of the crew noticed he had been avoiding him all morning), who was currently sitting on the ground getting his shoulder examined by Chopper. Actually, it was more like Chopper was nervously scolding Roronoa for removing his bandages, while the latter tuned the former out. Sanji was once again passing out food (as he always did, being the chef), only he set Roronoa's plate down rather roughly. He was clearly still angry about the previous night.

Nami stood in front of the galley door, a large sketch pad on a stand propped next to her. Written on the pad were the words "What We Know", and everything that fell under that category was written under it. When she barked out her command, everyone turned to look at her.

"Somewhere on that island is a crew made up of our older selves and a group of crazy-powerful New World bounty hunters," Nami said. "Thanks to our captain, we've been roped into aiding Roronoa in searching for the former. Since we obviously don't want to run into the latter, we can't just go gallivanting into the jungle. We need a_ plan_."

She smacked the the sketch pad with her palm. "This island is strange, and we don't really know anything about this situation. I did, however, take the liberty writing down everything we do know so far."

Everyone skimmed the list.

**What We Know**

_1.__This island is able to exist in two places._

_2. Night and day have strange patterns._

_3. The plants grow at irregular rates (Sanji, Chopper, and Vivi's Fruit Glade)._

_4. The island cannot be locked on to by any form of log pose._

_5. The fog that surrounds the island seems to act as an entryway._

_6. Time does whatever it wants. _

_7. Roronoa doesn't remember ever meeting his older self back when he was nineteen._

_8. There are at least two bounty hunters out there. Maybe more._

_9. There is also a little girl on the island who appears to live there. She knows about this place._

_10. As for future Straw Hat Pirates' locations, there is least one crew member that was left behind on the ship. _

_11. Something has happened to Nami's older self._

"Why is that bit about your older self on the list?" Zoro asked.

"We found my older self's log pose, and we know something happened to her," Nami replied. "So it goes on the list."

"Knowing you, I'm surprised you didn't put it at the top."

"Shut it, sword freak! We have every right to be concerned about future Nami-swan!" Sanji snapped. His visible eye turned into a heart. "I can't to see what she looks like. I bet she's even more beautiful than she is now!"

"Shut up, Mr. Nosebleed," Roronoa muttered as he pushed Chopper away from his shoulder. "You're giving me a headache."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING MR. NOSEBLEED?!" Sanji bellowed.

"_Why_ are you calling him 'Mr. Nosebleed?'" Chopper asked, begrudgingly packing up his bandages. "His nose isn't bleeding."

Roronoa's eye blinked, then he grinned wickedly. "Well you see, in the future, the cook's nose-"

"Zoro-ossan!" Luffy shouted, his mouth full of bacon. "No telling us about the future!"

"Whoops, sorry," Roronoa apologized, not sounding sorry in the least. "Guess it'd be better to keep that one a surprise."

Zoro didn't show it, but he was now very curious about what his older self was going to say.

Usopp sweatdropped. "Even so, knowing Sanji, I think we can guess what you mean by that insult."

"Usopp!" Vivi gasped. She shook her head. "Never mind. Nami, would you please continue?"

"Thank you, Vivi. I'm glad _somebody_ appreciates my efforts," Nami said with a sniff. She pointed to number ten on the list. "Roronoa, you did say your crew left a member on the ship, right? I wasn't wrong to write that?"

Roronoa stood up and took a seat at the table. He took a bite of french toast before answering. "No, that's right. When we weighed anchor, our shipwright offered to stay behind and watch the ship while the rest of us explored. Said he had some detail work to do anyway."

"Shipwright?" Vivi repeated.

"We don't have a shipwright," Usopp said. "Which is why I'm always the one fixing the Merry when Luffy breaks something. Like the mast and the figurehead."

"Hey, Laboon's the one who broke the figurehead, not me!" Luffy protested.

"Who's Laboon?" Chopper asked.

"A giant whale who lives next to Reverse Mountain," Luffy replied. He grinned eagerly. "Next time I see him, we're gonna fight!"

"Why would you want to fight a whale?!" Chopper gasped. "Is it because he broke the figurehead?"

"No, young Chopper," Usopp said dramatically. "It was a promise between men... well, between a man and a whale, but you know what I mean. Luffy promised Laboon he would return after our journey across the Grand Line, and they would duel!"

"Wow..." Chopper said, his eyes sparkling in admiration for Luffy.

"_Anyway_," Sanji interrupted. He gave Roronoa a glare. "Like Usopp said, we don't _have_ a shipwright." He stopped glaring and thought that over for a moment. "Though considering how often the Merry gets beat up, getting one might be a good investment."

Roronoa frowned, looking like he wanted to tell them something. However, he appeared to change his mind and instead said, "What, you don't think the Straw Hat Pirates would have picked up a few extra members over time? This probably falls under the category of 'The Future,' but since Luffy insists on you all helping me, you should know. Besides myself, Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and the love cook, we have three other crewmates in the future.

"Only nine people for a crew?" Vivi asked. She giggled. "I don't know why, but putting together such a small crew sounds like something Luffy would do."

"It does, but I kind of expected us to have a much larger crew after two years," Nami commented. "Twenty or thirty members, at least."

Roronoa took a hasty sip of milk. "We just don't do that much recruiting."

Luffy grinned. He was a little unhappy this search made Roronoa reveal something about the future, but he_ was_ happy to hear his future crew's size. He always said he wanted at least ten guys. Just one more to go!

"In any case, fewer members means it's that much less searching we have to do," Nami went on. "Roronoa, do you have any idea where your crewmates could have gone on the island? You did say you all split up."

Roronoa leaned back a little. "Hmm... well, I think Nami, Chopper, Usopp and the cook all went together in one group. They wanted to look for supplies and stuff, and Nami also wanted to survey the land for a map. Franky- that's our shipwright- stayed on the ship... I'm pretty sure Robin went off by herself, but with that woman, who can-"

"_Robin_? _Woman_?" Sanji repeated. He got close to Roronoa's face. "You mean another lady joins the crew?! What is she like? Is she gorgeous?"

"Get out of my face, Swirls!" Roronoa snapped, pushing the blonde out of his personal space. "Since you're probably going to meet her anyway, yes, "another lady" joins the crew. I guess she's pretty, though she's not really my type so I can't give any major descriptions. You'll just have to wait and see Robin for your-"

Roronoa froze, as if he suddenly realized what he was saying. Then, very slowly, he turned to look at Vivi.

Vivi suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Is there something wrong, Mr. Bushido?"

Roronoa looked away and closed his eye, rubbing his temple as he muttered, "Yeah, that might be a problem. And not just for her..."

The Straw Hats gave the elder swordsman confused looks. What was he mumbling about?

"Why would it be a problem?" Luffy asked. "Is something wrong with this Robin lady?"

Roronoa contemplated how to explain it, but decided this was a story for another time. He waved it off. "Never mind, I'll explain it later."

Zoro gave the elder swordsman a sideways glance. "Why? Something to hide?"

Roronoa returned the glance. "Didn't I say not to make assumptions?"

The two swordsman glared at each other. You could practically see the antagonistic lightning passing between them.

"Wow," Usopp whispered to Chopper. "You'd think Zoro would get along great with someone that's basically himself in the future. These two look like they can't stand each other."

"They're both scary," Chopper whimpered.

"Roronoa, you said there were eight other people in your crew!" Nami chose to interrupt. "You haven't counted off for two of them yet!"

Roronoa broke his staring contest with Zoro. "Oh, right. Where was I... yeah, Robin. I have no idea where she might have gone off to. Anyway, I was going on a walk with a crewmate named Brook- who's a guy, so don't even ask, cook- until he went and got himself lost. I was actually looking for him when I ran into that weird little girl."

"And future Luffy?"

"Moron went rocketing into the jungle before we even dropped the anchor."

The present Luffy snickered. "Shishishi, that sounds like something I would do. I hope he's having fun!"

"Wonderful," Nami sighed sarcastically. "So other than this Franky guy, we have no definite clue as to your crew's whereabouts. At least this gives us a place to start. Did you guys weigh anchor along the beach, or somewhere else?"

"It was along the beach. Can't remember where, though," Roronoa replied.

"That's fine. Even if you did remember, you probably end up leading us in the wrong direction anyway," Nami said dryly. She pointed to the beach outside the galley window. "Then that's our first step. We'll walk along the beach until we find the future crew's ship!"

"Aww," Luffy whined. "I wanted to explore the jungle first."

"NO WAY!" Nami shrieked. "We're not going into the jungle when we don't know what's in there!"

"Which is why we need to explore it! My older self had the right idea."

"Maybe we should break into groups?" Vivi tried to compromise. "We'd be able to cover more ground that way in less time, since we we don't know how long daylight is going to last this time around."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but Nami's right for once," Zoro said. "Besides not knowing what the heck is in that freaky jungle, there are also New World bounty hunters in there. Since we're apparently not allowed to fight them without Roronoa's permission, going in there would be suicide. It's best we stick together."

"We can try the jungle after we find Franky," Roronoa added. "You could say he's one of our crew's 'big guns.' And I mean that quite literally."

Several members of the crew were now curious to meet this shipwright and see what Roronoa meant by "literally."

"We should keep an eye out for the little girl Roronoa mentioned," Sanji added. "She might be able to aide us."

"So we have a plan then?" Nami asked. There mutual nodding amongst the gathered pirates (and princess). "Okay! Then pack up what you need and head for the beach! We leave in ten minutes!"

With that being said, the Straw Hats quickly finished their breakfasts and left the galley to prepare for Operation SAVE THE FUTURE (as Usopp decided to call it, much to Luffy's exclamations of the name's coolness).

Usopp left the galley, giving Luffy an awkward wave as he exited. Chopper ran from the galley, muttering under his breath what he would need for the trip from his clinic. Zoro left the galley as quickly as physically possible, pushing past Vivi and Carue to do so. This made Sanji charge after him, though not before shooting Roronoa another glare. Roronoa just sighed and exited the galley after Sanji, grumbling about "stupid blondes who couldn't let things go."

Soon, the only people who remained were Luffy and Nami. The former was eating the table scraps, and the latter was cleaning up her display.

"Hey, what's up with Zoro?" Luffy asked, swallowing his food. "He's acting really weird today."

So was Usopp, but Luffy didn't think Nami knew anything about that.

Nami collapsed her metal stand. "I don't really know, but back while you were asleep, he kept giving Roronoa all these weird, suspicious glances. However, if you want my opinion, I don't think he _or_ Sanji trust him very much."

Luffy raised a confused eyebrow. "Huh? Why wouldn't they trust Zoro-ossan? He's _Zoro_. And why wouldn't Zoro trust himself?"

"Technically, he's Zoro in two years."

"What difference does that make?"

"It may not sound like much, but two years is a pretty long time," Nami sighed, folding up her sketchpad. "People change."

"It's not _that_ long."

"It is for pirates. Our lives are pretty rough, and a lot can happen in two years. Roronoa may not be the same Zoro we know now. It was pretty obvious yesterday when he took down Sanji that he's different in the strength aspect, anyway. He's twice the monster he is now. It makes me wonder how much everyone else might have changed too."

Luffy frowned. Truthfully, he had similar suspicions when Roronoa first came aboard. But after Roronoa agreed to the "captain's orders," Luffy had pretty much dismissed them. Zoro was still Zoro; he wouldn't change... would he?

"Do_ you_ think Zoro-ossan's trustworthy?" Luffy asked.

His navigator shrugged. "More or less. I have to, or else we'd never be able to figure out anything on this backward island. For now, let's say he's trustworthy unless he does something that suggests otherwise."

That didn't make Luffy feel better. If anything, it made him feel worse.

Nami squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Come on, let's go get ready. We leave soon."

She left the galley, leaving Luffy to himself. The pirate captain sat down and remained seated at the table, thinking over Nami's words. Granted, he knew people did change as time went on. Ace had been really mean when he was younger, but got nicer as the years went by. But that was_ seven_ years, not_ two_. Zoro, or anyone else, couldn't have changed_ that_ much.

Maybe.

He guessed he would just have to see, now wouldn't he? He had to meet his future crew to find them, after all.

* * *

**Location: Outskirts of the K****āla Jungle**

_Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho..._

The sun had risen again. It had only been night for roughly five hours, but he wasn't complaining. He never did like sitting in the dark for too long. It brought too many harsh memories. At least that fog from before hadn't made its way to the main island yet; he'd had enough fog for one lifetime, than you very much.

...Though, he wasn't actually alive anymore, so he guessed he couldn't complain.

He took a sip of tea (he always carried some around in a thermos). He still hadn't been able to find the others, including the crewmate he had gotten separated from. The island was big and confusing; he couldn't even remember where they had docked the ship. He had been alone for quite some time now.

...He never did like being alone.

So for now, he decided to take a break. His crewmates were very capable and could care for themselves if need be. And who knows? Perhaps they all had already made their way back to the ship and were currently looking for him as well. All he really needed to do was wait. The only issue now was how to pass the time until he either found his friends, or they found him.

...He knew it was a good idea to bring his violin along. He pulled his bow back, and began to play.

_Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho..._

_Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo. Umikaze kimakase namimakase..._

* * *

**Next Time (For Reals!):**

Vivi and Usopp stared up in horror. This thing was a... it was a... a...

"Excuse miss," the tall skeleton before them said, leaning towards Vivi. "Would you be so kind as to show me your panties?"

"AIIIIEEEE! PERVERT ZOMBIE!"

"AHHHHH, WHERE?!"


	8. Dead Men Tell No Tales

**JEEZUM PETE! THIS HAS 98 FOLLOWERS!**

**I've never gotten this many followers, this fast before. *_tears up_* You like me! You really, really like me! **

**So, let's see if we can bump this up past 100! I want to surpass my current top story, _Night Falls_, with_ Tomorrow's Romance Dawn_!**

**Surprisingly though, none of you called me out on Yari's comment on how Robin would make "a lovely doll." _I_ didn't even realize what I had written until my sister pointed it out to me. Accidental foreshadowing is not something I do often. Also, o****n a side note, if anyone wants to create fan art for this, by all means, go ahead! I want to see what you come up with! My sister, Goldenrose101 on deviantart, is in the process of drawing some of her own. She'll be posting them as soon as they're finished, and I'll put the links in my profile when that time comes.**

**This chapter is a lot longer than previous ones. Consider it an apology for omitting Brook's introduction from the previous chapter.**

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda, Shonen Jump, Shueisha, and Toei Animation. (I read Oda makes, like, 25 million dollars every year in One Piece royalties. This manga is gonna put his daughter through college. And his daughter's daughter, and his daughter's daughter's daughter, and so on...)**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Dead Men Tell No Tales... But They Do Sing Songs**

* * *

**Location: Beach of Kāla**

"Bye, Carue! Bye, Vivi! Bye, Usopp!" Luffy called out, walking backward as he waved the duck, princess, and sniper goodbye. "Take care of the Merry while we're gone!"

Vivi and Usopp waved back, while Carue quacked and saluted Luffy with his wing before beginning to pace the deck. He was taking his duties very seriously.

Once everyone got what they felt they needed for their escapade along the beach (Chopper packed medical supplies, Usopp packed extra ammo and weapons, Sanji packed food, etc.), they had come to the realization that if they were all going on Operation SAVE THE FUTURE, this would leave the Going Merry completely unguarded. Usopp immediately offered to stay behind, until Zoro pointed out that if the bounty hunters showed up and he was all alone, he'd be dead meat. Usopp then had mysteriously come down with I-can't-remain-on-the-ship-or-I'll-die disease, causing Chopper to panic and rifle through his medical books trying to find a cure.

After much debate and convincing the little reindeer that Usopp's disease didn't exist (and drawing some straws), it was decided that Vivi, Carue, and Usopp (who drew the long straw by pure coincidence) would be staying behind to guard the Going Merry.

"Think Vivi and Carue will be okay on their own?" Sanji asked as Luffy ran to the front of the group.

"What about Usopp?" Chopper asked. He was in Walk Point so he could carry extra supplies.

"Him too, I guess."

"They should be fine," Roronoa replied. "Bounty hunters usually only go after people with bounties. Vivi doesn't have one, and you wouldn't be able to recognize Usopp based on his poster. If we're lucky, they should just ignore them."

"I wasn't asking you, bigger sword fre-" Sanji began. Roronoa's words then registered with him. "Wait a minute. _Usopp_ has a bounty in the future? _Usopp_?"

Roronoa glanced at Luffy.

"That's okay," Luffy said, understanding the glance. "I expect all of my crewmates to have bounties any day now. Just don't tell us when he got it or how much it is, alright?"

Roronoa nodded. "Aye-aye, captain."

"_Usopp_," Sanji repeated. "Has a _bounty_. _Usopp_."

"Saying it over and over isn't going to make it any less true, cook," Zoro said irritably.

Sanji still looked incredulous as he walked along the sand. "... What the heck did he _do_?"

Roronoa smirked. "That would be telling."

"... Do_ I_ have bounty poster yet?"

The elder swordsman stopped walking and stared at Sanji for a long time. He seemed ready to answer the question, but then he shook his head.

"Nope," Roronoa said to himself, grinning as he began walking again. Zoro recognized it as his 'I know something you don't, and it is freaking hilarious' grin. "Even I'm not that cruel."

"Hey, what's with that stupid grin?!" Sanji shouted. "Come on, you don't have to tell how much it is, I just want to know if I have one! Roronoa!"

Roronoa started to laugh, ignoring Sanji's shouting. Zoro knew himself well enough to know his counterpart wasn't laughing at Sanji's frustration, but at the idea of Sanji's poster.

_Dang it, he has all this great material against the cook_, Zoro thought bitterly. _I know Luffy ordered to stop asking about the future, but now I really want to know about that stupid poster!_

Zoro then realized he was now walking pretty close to Roronoa, so he sped up until he was walking next to Luffy.

The search party walked in relative silence for awhile after that. Other than passing large mossy rocks that popped up along the beach every now and then, there wasn't really much to see except the ocean, the rest of the beach, and the jungle to their right (Luffy stretched his arm out at one point to snatch a branch, just so he could use it as a walking stick). At least the weather was nice, and the sun showed no signs of setting. Of course, this didn't change fact just walking quietly was boring, and when the situation got boring...

"_Oh, the island in the south are warm_," Luffy sang off-key. "_And their heads get really hot. The grow-a pineapples, they grow-a coconuts... and they're morons!_"

The crew winced (Chopper had even flattened his ears against his hat). Luffy really was a horrible singer.

"Next verse!" Luffy announced, waving his walking stick. "_Oh, the islands in the north are snowy, and their heads get really cold..._"

"Luffy!" Nami interrupted. "If we actually _talk_ about something, will you promise _not_ to sing?"

"Okay!" Luffy agreed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I think I may have a topic," Roronoa said. "Is it true you guys heard voices in the fog when you first came here?"

That had come so out of nowhere, it took a few seconds to register with the present Straw Hats.

"We did," Chopper said at last, slowly. "We thought they were ghosts, until Nami and Sanji heard voices of people they recognized."

"Why do you ask?" Nami asked. "Didn't your crew hear voices as well?"

"No, we didn't hear anything when we passed through the fog," Roronoa replied. He paused. "Well, unless you count the sound of Usopp hyperventilating, but that's hardly out of the ordinary."

"How did you know we heard voices if you didn't hear any yourself?" Sanji asked suspiciously. "We never talked about it in front of you."

Roronoa jerked his thumb towards his younger self. The crew turned to look at Zoro.

Zoro rubbed the back of his neck. "I may have brought it up during a... _discussion_, we had the other night. Didn't know it was supposed to be a secret."

To his credit, it_ wasn't_ like it supposed to be a secret. It was just that most of the crew had been trying _not_ to think about the voices after hearing their own speak within the rainbow fog. Especially so with Zoro, so they were a little shocked that_ he_ had brought it up of all people.

"The voices were really annoying a first," Luffy said. "They said we were weak and had no pride, that we were powerless, and that desert sand would bury us."

"The voice that said that last part sounded just like Crocodile," Sanji pointed out. "You thought he was a ghost for a minute there."

"Crocodile was still alive last I saw him," Roronoa said. "If you want to call that living, anyway. What else did you hear?"

"After Crocodile, it was just a bunch of random phrases," Nami answered. "It was more like parts of sentences, actually; as if the fog were breaking into the middle of the voices' sentences. Then we heard Hatchan's voice-"

"Hachi's voice?" Roronoa asked, sounding somewhat surprised. "What was he saying?"

Nami's eyes widened and she stumbled mid-step before regaining her balance. Did... did Roronoa just refer to that octopus fishman as _Hachi_? It was Hatchan's nickname, true, but the only people he let call him that...

...were his close _friends_.

"Nami dear?" Sanji said. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Nami's pale?" Luffy gasped. "Oh no! Is she sick again?!"

"Maybe we should head back to the Merry and have Chopper give her a check up," Zoro suggested seriously.

Chopper immediately went into doctor-mode (read: frantic Brain Point), jumping around Nami and telling her to sit down so he could make sure she hadn't relapsed from the Kestia (which, if Kureha had been there to tell him, was impossible). He was still new to the crew, and therefore wanted to make sure he didn't fail in his duties as doctor.

"Guys!" Nami broke in. "I'm not sick! I'm perfectly fine!"

"You sure?" Luffy asked.

"I'm sure," she confirmed. "If I were feeling sick, I'd tell you. I promise."

By this point, her color had returned and she did look healthy, so the crew had no problem believing her.

"Okay," Chopper said, calming down and helping Sanji pick up the supplies he (Chopper) dropped. "You'd better keep that promise and tell me if you start feeling ill again, alright?"

Nami nodded. "I'll keep my promise, don't worry. Now that that's taken care of, where were we?"

"You were about to tell me what Hachi's voice said in the fog," Roronoa reminded her.

Nami swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Right. If I recall correctly, he was saying something about somebody promising something. It had to do if they saw someone shot before their eyes."

Nami remembered the out-or-breath, pained tone Hatchan's voice was using. If he hadn't been one of her tormentors for the last eight years, she might have felt sorry for him. The navigator was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Roronoa had ceased walking. Everyone else stopped as well once they noticed (though Sanji had to tap Nami on the shoulder get her attention).

"Zoro-ossan? Why'd you stop?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, you were the one who wanted to start searching so badly," Zoro said, crossing his arms.

Roronoa ignored the other two, instead focusing on Nami. "Nami, were Hachi's exact words, 'you promised, that even if someone was shot before your eyes, you would not lay a hand on the... on _them_'?"

Nami raised an eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

"The octopus's voice said the first part, but where did that second part come from?" Sanji asked.

Roronoa didn't reply. "Quick, tell me something else one of the voices said."

"Okay..." Nami said slowly. "Um, I think Vivi told me she heard a woman's voice cry out 'I want to live-'"

"-'take me with you, take me away from here,'" Roronoa finished for her. He bit his thumbnail. "Damn it... how is this possible?"

"Whoa, Zoro-ossan! How do you keep doing that?!" Luffy asked excitedly. He turned to Zoro. "Why didn't you tell me you were psycho?"

"I thought that was a given," Sanji snickered.

"Shut up, ero-cook!" Zoro barked. "If I'm psycho, then at least I'm not whipped pervert like you."

"What did you call me, mosshead?"

"You heard me, dartboard!"

"Take it back!"

"Make me!"

Sanji aimed a kick at Zoro's face, Zoro deflected it with his sword, and it all went downhill from there. While the cook and swordsman exchanged blows, Chopper spoke up, "Luffy, I think you mean psy_chic_, not psy_cho_. Am I correct?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, that."

Roronoa watched his younger self fight Sanji, sweatdropping. "You know, now that I'm the one watching this for once, I can see how this can get kind of annoying."

Not that he would change his habits any time soon. That cook was just too annoying to not fight all the time. Besides, if he didn't fight the cook, then that pervert would call him a scaredy-cat and never let him hear the end of it. (Choosing not to fight younger Sanji didn't count. Roronoa didn't fight people_ that_ much weaker than him unless the situation demanded it.)

"Don't just change the subject! How do you know what the voices said?!" Nami shouted. She then turned on her heel and pounded her fists into the dueling men's heads, sending them plowing into the sand. "AND WOULD YOU STOP FIGHTING AND PAY ATTENTION?!"

"Yes, Nami my swaaaan~!"

"Damn it, woman! Stop hitting us all the time!"

Chopper hid behind Luffy, while Luffy laughed at the scene. Roronoa just continued to sweatdrop. Once Sanji and Zoro were back on their feet, it was also back to the matter at hand.

"You didn't answer my question or Nami's, Zoro-ossan," Luffy said. "How do you keep guessing what those voices were saying? And how do you know what they were going to say afterwards? It's really freaky."

"I'm not guessing anything," Roronoa admitted, crossing his arms. "I know what they're going to say because I was there when those respective voices said them. Or more accurately, when the people those voices belonged to said them. I don't how, but I think what you guys were hearing were things that were said to you in the future."

"WHAT?!" the crew yelled collectively.

"How can that be?" Chopper asked. "We heard our voices too! I heard myself say I was going to be a more reliable man."

"My voice was calling somebody an idiot and scolding them for not asking other people's opinions," Nami said.

"Usopp's fog voice said this place wasn't hell," Luffy added. "And my fog voice was asking somebody what made them a god. I sounded really pissed."

"I don't know about Nami's, but I do know Usopp's and Chopper's, and I can guess Luffy's by context," Roronoa said.

"What about what my voice said?" Zoro asked. "I told you about it last night. Recognize that?"

Roronoa narrowed his eye. "Seeing how your voice is also_ my_ voice, I think I know what situation I was in when I said that."

Luffy remembered what Zoro's fog voice said.

"_...can't even protect my captain, then my ambition is..._"

Luffy frowned a little. Zoro's ambition was _what_? He promised Zoro he'd never get in the way of that. So if Zoro really said that in the future, what did it mean for their vow?

Roronoa noticed his young captain's frown and clapped a hand on his shoulder, which was Zoro-talk for "don't worry about it." The younger swordsman scowled at his older self's gesture but did nothing to interrupt it. Luffy looked like he needed it.

By this time, some clouds had rolled across the sky and blocked out the sun, dimming the area quite considerably. It fit, considering how dismal the atmosphere had become in the last few minutes.

"And after we heard our voices, it got really disturbing," Sanji went on. "There were still other voices, but only one really stood out. The things it said... were very troubling."

"Yeah," Nami agreed. She looked at Luffy. "If these really are voices of the future, I can only wonder _why_ Ace's voice was saying those things. Do you think he gets into some kind of-"

"Hold on a second," Roronoa broke in. "Did you say 'Ace'?"

"Don't interrupt Nami, you uncouth-!" Sanji started to rant.

"Sanji, shut up," Roronoa said sternly.

Sanji did shut up, from both the stern tone and the uncharacteristic use of his name from the swordsman.

"This is important," Roronoa continued. "Did I just hear you say '_Ace_'?"

"Ace is the name of Luffy's big brother," Chopper explained. "He told us about him after we set foot on the island."

"I know who Ace is!" Roronoa snapped, and then immediately felt bad when he saw Chopper's frightened expression. "Sorry. I meant I do know who he is, but I'm surprised that you all know."

"Huh? Why's that?" Luffy asked.

"Your crew shouldn't know about Ace yet. We didn't know your future self even had siblings until he told us about him in Nanohana."

"That's the city Vivi said we'd visit first when we arrived in Alabasta," Nami remembered.

"That doesn't sound right," Zoro said. "Luffy told us about him just the other day. Why would I forget by the time we arrived in Alabasta?"

"And why would I also forget coming to a freaked-up island between Drum and Alabasta?" Roronoa countered. "It's because I didn't forget. These things _didn't happen_. At least they didn't before."

"What, are you saying because we all came to this island, history's being changed somehow?" Chopper asked.

"How'd you come up with that?" Roronoa asked. He shook his head. "Never mind, because it actually makes sense. Despite my efforts and Luffy's orders, you are going to learn about the future, and the _fact_ you know might change what decisions you make later in your journey."

"Different decisions, different outcomes," Sanji added reluctantly.

"So it's a mystery effect," Luffy concluded.

No one bothered to correct Luffy, because just like with the "mystery island", he was right.

"It's the only logical explanation," Nami said. "Unless Roronoa and his crew just miraculously forgot everything once they left the island."

Sanji glanced at Zoro and Luffy. "I wouldn't put it beneath certain members of our crew."

"Shut up, cook," Zoro said. He turned to his counterpart. "You looked kind of spooked there when Nami said Ace's name. It's not_ that_ surprising, is it?"

Roronoa just shrugged. He didn't really look like he wanted to talk about it.

"Do we... _meet_ Ace in Alabasta?" Luffy asked suddenly. "Is that why I tell you guys about him?"

Roronoa raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't telling you be going against-"

"Just tell me!" Luffy snapped.

"Okay, okay! Yes, we do meet him in Alabasta!" Roronoa answered. "We were heading in the same direction, so he traveled with us for a couple days before leaving. That's it."

"Luffy, what's your problem?" Nami scolded. "You didn't have to snap at him like that."

Luffy's brow furrowed as he ignored Nami and thought back to his dream. So they did meet in Ace in Alabasta... or at least they were _going_ to. His dream must have been about Ace's departure, but how was that possible? He hadn't experienced it yet, so how would he know what would happen, even if it was a dream?

"Zoro-ossan," he began. "Did Ace-"

"_LUFFY_!"

* * *

**Time: A good 15-20 minutes earlier**  
**Location: The Going Merry**

Vivi, as anyone who knew her could tell you, was something of a worrywart. She worried at Whiskey Peak, she worried on Little Garden, and she worried_ heavily_ on Drum Island (with good reason). This time was no different. She paced the deck alongside Carue, worrying about her friends who had gone off in search of the future Mr. Bushido's ship.

Usopp looked up from his chemistry set. He was making extra ammo in the case of an attack. "Would you stop pacing? You're going to make a rut in the deck and I don't want to have to fix it."

"I'm sorry," Vivi apologized (though she continued to pace). "I'm just a little on edge. I hope the others make it to Mr. Roronoa's ship safely."

"You're worried about _them_? They have Luffy, Sanji, and _two_ Zoros with them," Usopp said as he began to clean up his supplies. "If you should be worried about anyone, be worried about us! If the bounty hunters hunters come here, we're pretty much screwed!"

Vivi stopped pacing and crossed her arms. "I thought you were a brave warrior of the sea."

"I am!" Usopp said proudly. He began to shake in fear. "I just want to live long enough to continue being one!"

"I've spent two years among bounty hunters. They usually ignore those without bounties, so if we're lucky, we'll be just fine."

"That makes me feel _so_ much better."

Vivi sighed and sat down on the deck. Carue got down behind her so she could lean back on him. She began to absently rub her hair between her fingers.

Usopp gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

"Of course!" she replied a little too quickly. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "No reason. It's just you seem a little off is all."

She chuckled weakly. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kind of. You're a chatty worrier, and you've been unnaturally quiet this whole time." He thought about it. "Oh, does it have to do with Alabasta? Helping Roronoa is really cutting into the time we have to get there."

Vivi gave him a smile. "Looks like you and Nami think alike. She said the same thing to me before we went to sleep last night."

Usopp sat down across from her. "Well, does it?"

"A little, but I'll tell you what I told Nami. Past or future, Mr. Roronoa is my friend and I want to help him out. Still, the sooner we find his friends, the better."

"I'm with you on that," Usopp agreed. "Although I have defeated many a bounty hunter in the past, I don't even _I_ could handle ones from the New World. It's best we find our future selves before the hunters find us." The sniper noticed Vivi was chewing on her lip. "But that's not your reason, is it."

Vivi shook her head. "No, it's not. I've also been thinking about what will happen when we arrive in Alabasta. Roronoa said we beat Crocodile, but... well, that doesn't necessarily mean we stop the actual rebellion."

"Vivi, it's going to be fine," Usopp assured her. "You just have to tell them Crocodile is behind all the bad stuff and they'll stop, right?"

"But what if I can't do that?!" Vivi shouted, jumping to her feet. "And what about you guys? You're risking your lives helping me! I know none of you die given Mr. Roronoa's description of his crew, but who knows what could happen there? Look at Mr. Roronoa; he's missing an eye! For all we know, he could've lost it in Alabasta!"

"Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?" Usopp asked, also standing up. "Anyway, I don't think Roronoa's eye was blinded in Alabasta, and even if it was, he seems to manage just fine without it."

"Yes, but-" Vivi started to argue.

"Just calm down and stop worrying, okay?" Usopp went on. "Luffy promised he'd help, and he keeps his promises... like, 95 percent of the time, but he usually keeps them. Also, you're our friend; if you weren't, we wouldn't even be bothering." He slumped a little. "Besides, you're not the only one who's afraid of failing the people they care about."

Vivi frowned. "I couldn't help but notice, but you've also been kind of 'off' today. Not to mention you've been acting strange around Luffy. Is there a problem?"

"You'd think I was crazy."

"Try me."

Usopp sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't been meaning to act strange around Luffy, but it has to do with this dream I had last night."

"A dream?" Vivi repeated.

Usopp nodded and described it to her.

* * *

_It was nighttime. The dark sky was overcast, and Usopp was surrounded by a rocky landscape. In the distance behind him, there was a large city. To the side, the ocean and the Going Merry._

_He winced. The Merry looked _horrible_. She was just barely being held together by metal plates and mismatched planks. What had happened to her?_

_He could also see Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Zoro standing on the deck. Nami looked distraught, Zoro looked distant, Sanji was scowling, and Chopper looked like he was ready to start crying. What was going on? And where was Luffy?_

_"Gum Gum... _Pistol_!"_

___Usopp turned in time to see Luffy, despite there being smoke everywhere. He was performing one of his signature attacks... only that attack was coming straight towards him! He tried to call out his captain's name, but found he couldn't make his lips move._

_Usopp had seen Luffy use this attack on many enemies before, but never had he ever been subject to it. The rubber fist rammed into his jaw, sending him flying across the ground and damn, did it hurt!_

_It was just then Usopp realized his entire body hurt. He was covered in so many bandages he looked like a mummy. Not that Luffy looked much better. The rubber captain was covered in burns, scratches, and blood. Why were they both hurt this bad? Why was Luffy attacking him out of nowhere like this? _

_Luffy ran forward, stretching both of his arms behind him._

_"It's time to put an end to this!" Luffy growled. "Gum Gum... _BAZOOKA_!"_

_Usopp felt his body stand up and hold up what looked like a little pink shell. (Why was his body moving on its own?) The bazooka hit the shell, and all of a sudden, all the force seemed to vanish from Luffy's attack. Usopp was surprised, and Luffy looked doubly so._

_"Recognize this?" he heard himself say. His lips were moving on their own as well. Why did his voice sound so angry? "I bet that bazooka would've hurt. Let's find out!"_

_Usopp ran forward and placed the shell right in front of Luffy's face._

_"_IMPACT!_"_

_Usopp wasn't sure how, but the shell seemed to release the force it had absorbed from Luffy's bazooka. Luffy went flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth. It took all of Usopp's willpower not to scream, for he had now officially lost all feeling in his arm. He ended up screaming anyway._

_He felt his body seize up, and he screamed out, "_I WON'T LOSE TO YOU_!"_

_Usopp was dumbfounded by his own words. Were he and Luffy were in some kind of duel? Why would they do that? Luffy was his best friend; he wouldn't fight him for no reason!"_

_Luffy wasn't down for long. He was soon back up on his feet, though he was breathing very hard. Usopp got on his feet also, struggling with every movement. Luffy stretched his arm backward as far as it would go._

_"Gum Gum..." Luffy cried out. "_BULLET!_"_

_Luffy's fist plowed into Usopp's stomach. The sniper didn't go flying, but he did cough up blood._

Luffy..._ he thought. _Why? Why are we fighting? You're my friend, damn it_!_

_He fell forward, landing on his face. The dream (and how he desperately hoped it really was one) began to fade out. Right before it did, he heard Luffy muttering._

_"You idiot," his captain whispered. "You knew it would end like this! You knew you could never beat me!"_

_Usopp didn't reply. The last thing he remembered was the sound of Luffy's voice, sounding on the verge of tears._

* * *

Usopp took a long, shuddery breath as he finished recounting the events of his dream.

"Oh, Usopp," Vivi whispered sympathetically.

"And now whenever I look at Luffy, his last words in my dream replay in my head," Usopp sighed. He sat down on a barrel and ran his fingers over his bandanna.

"I can see how this would bother you," Vivi said. "I may not have been traveling with you guys for long, but even I can see how close you all are. So to fight someone you care about like that..."

"What gets me is I don't know _what_ we were fighting about," Usopp went on. "Going off what Luffy said at the end, I'm pretty sure _I_ was the one who instigated the duel. What could have occurred that would make me angry enough to challenge my best friend to a fight I_ know_ I'm going to lose? Did I fail him somehow...or did he fail me? I have to know!"

"_Nothing_ has occurred, nobody has failed anyone, and you clearly have no intention of challenging Luffy to anything," Vivi pointed out. "It was just a bad dream."

"That's just it. Remember when I said you'd think I was crazy if told you about my dream?"

"Yes."

"Here's the crazy part; I don't think it was just a dream. It felt too real to be one."

Vivi's eyes widened. "Are you saying you think it was a _memory_?"

Usopp shrugged. "That's my best theory, but it's a flawed one. I think I would remember something so awful." He rested his chin in his palm. "But some details of my dream stuck out to me. You weren't there, but Chopper was. The Merry was badly damaged, and we were next to a city I had never seen before."

When mentioning the Merry, Vivi noticed an almost pained expression grace Usopp's features.

"You're worried about the Merry too?" she asked.

Usopp nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am. It was bad enough seeing her in that state in my nightmare; but I've also been thinking back to when Roronoa first woke up."

Vivi knew what he meant. "Mr. Roronoa asked if anything happened before his crew brought him back to the _Sunny_."

"The _Thousand Sunny_," Usopp added grimly. "Sounds like the name of a ship to me."

Carue, sensing his princess's friend's distress, scooted up next to him and nuzzled him. Usopp scratched under the duck's bill appreciatively.

Vivi, Carue, and Usopp were currently sitting pretty close to the figurehead. Vivi reached over and ran her hand over the adorable lamb's head. She had grown fond of this little ship; the thought of the Straw Hat Pirates losing it saddened her. With that on top of his nightmare, she was surprised the sniper wasn't a complete wreck. She was about to attempt comforting Usopp, when she suddenly heard something.

_"...no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo. Umikaze kimakase..."_

"Usopp," Vivi whispered. "Did you hear that?"

Usopp looked up from his brooding. "Hear what?"

"Just listen."

Usopp grew quiet, as did Carue. As Vivi predicted, the sound returned.

"_...no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu. Sora nya wa wo kaku, tori no uta..._"

"It sounds like... singing," Usopp said the time it faded out.

Vivi pointed to the jungle. "It's coming from over there."

Usopp and Vivi shared a quick glance.

"No way!" Usopp hollered, forming an 'x' with his arms. "We are not going in there to check it out!"

"But Usopp, it could be one of Mr. Roronoa's crewmates!" Vivi reasoned.

"And it could be one of the bounty hunters!"

"A bounty hunter wouldn't be randomly singing; a member of Luffy's crew would!"

"...Touché."

"It's just a quick peek," she insisted. "We'll be in and out, just like that."

Usopp fell off the barrel and on to the deck, lying on his back and grasping at his throat. "Oh no, it's my I-can't-go-ashore-or-I'll-die-disease! I don't think I can make it Vivi..."

Vivi rolled her eyes. Usopp could be such a drama queen. "Fine. I'll just go with Carue and leave you all alone on the ship."

Usopp thought for a moment that she may have been bluffing, but sure enough, Vivi hopped on Carue's back and jumped from the Merry and on to the beach. Usopp was all alone on the Merry.

"If she thinks she can scare me into coming, she's got another thing coming," Usopp muttered. "I am the Great Captain Usopp! I can handle being alone on the ship."

As soon as he said that, clouds rolled over the sky, blocking out the sun and darkening the deck quite a bit. On top of that, the wind picked up and there were odd, scratching noises coming from the jungle.

A screeching noise that sounded like some big, ugly bird echoed across the ship.

That was the last straw.

"VIVI! WAIT FOR ME!"

* * *

"Stop smiling like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You just stay there on your duck. I didn't come here because I was scared; I came here to protect you."

"I appreciate the sentiment."

With the sun now behind the clouds, the jungle had grown extremely dark. Usopp walked closely next to the mounted duck, aiming his slingshot in random directions. So far, their little search wasn't very successful.

"I don't see anyone," Vivi observed. "I'm sure this is where the singing was coming from."

They walked a bit farther. The jungle was now getting a little misty too (at least it wasn't rainbow colored).

"Hey, Vivi?" Usopp piped up.

"Yes, Usopp?" Vivi responded.

"I just had a thought," he whispered nervously. "What if the reason we can't find who was singing... is because it was a _ghost_?"

Vivi ordered Carue to halt, and she gave Usopp a slightly exasperated look. "Don't tell me you still think this island is haunted?"

"I'm just tossing around ideas!" Usopp insisted. "This island already has a backward sense of time; why not throw the living dead into the mix?"

"Backward senses of time and the living dead have nothing to do with each other."

"You don't know that!"

"And neither do you." Vivi sighed. "Honestly Usopp; and you say I'm a worrier. I think the worse we have to be concerned about on this island are the bounty hunters. There are no living dead on this-"

"Yohohoho! Usopp-san!" a voice interrupted from out of nowhere. "I thought I recognized your voice!"

Vivi, Usopp, and Carue turned in time to see a figure step out from the bushes. And what they saw...

"I'm happy to have finally located a familiar face!" the figure said jovially. "I'm afraid I got myself a little lost; this island is quite confusing. Have you noticed the odd sunsets and sunrises? When I saw that sunset so early in the day, my eyes nearly bugged right of my head! Ah, not that I have eyes! Yohohoho!"

Vivi, Usopp, and Carue said nothing. Their minds were still trying to process the sight before them.

"Oh," the figure went on, taking notice of the blue-haired princess. "And who would this lovely lady be?"

The figure was impossibly tall; over nine feet. It wore a trim back coat, a blue cravat, a flashy orange feather boa, floral-print pants, fancy pink sunglasses, and a white hat that seemed to be combined with a crown. It had hair, a large black afro in fact. But that was the only thing remotely human about it. It already said it didn't have eyes... only empty sockets. It didn't have ears, a nose, or any flesh for that matter.

Vivi and Usopp stared up in horror. This thing was a... it was a... a...

"Excuse me, miss," the tall skeleton before them said, leaning towards Vivi. "Would you be so kind as to show me your panties?"

"AIIIIIEEEE!" Vivi and Usopp shrieked. "PERVERT ZOMBIE!"

"AHHHHH!" the skeleton shrieked back, looking from side to side. "WHERE?!"

* * *

**Time: Present (relatively speaking)  
Location: A ways down the down the beach of ****Kāla**

After divulging a few details about Ace, Roronoa was starting to look somewhat uncomfortable.

_Roronoa_, who was _Zoro_, looked _uncomfortable_. Even if it was only slightly and barely detectable, Zoro, past or present, _never_ looked uncomfortable about _anything_ (unless one counted the last forty five minutes, during which Zoro looked uncomfortable whenever he got too close to his older self). Call the crew crazy, but they partially suspected he was uncomfortable with talking about Ace.

"Zoro-ossan," Luffy began. "Did Ace-"

"_LUFFY_!"

The crew turned around to see Vivi and Usopp riding down the beach on Carue. The sniper and the princess had identical terrified expressions on their faces. Usopp looked so scared that tears of fear were streaming down his face. Seeing them instantly pushed the subject of Ace out of their minds. They had their friends to worry about at the moment.

"Vivi, Usopp!" Nami called out.

"Vivi-chan!" Sanji shouted out, jogging over to meet them. Zoro, Roronoa, Luffy, Nami, and Chopper followed after him.

Vivi yanked on Carue's reins and the duck skidded to a stop. Unfortunately, the sudden force caused Usopp to go flying off the saddle. Luckily for him, Roronoa caught him and immediately set him back up on his feet.

"Thanks," Usopp said, sounding out of breath.

"No problem," Roronoa replied.

Sanji helped Vivi dismount, for she was too shaky to do it on her. The blonde cook took the princess's hand in his own. "Vivi-chan, are alright? Why aren't you still on the Merry?"

"I'm here too, you know!" Usopp shouted indignantly.

Sanji, of course, ignored him and went on right trying to soothe Vivi.

"Was it the bounty hunters?" Chopper gasped. "Are you guys hurt?"

"The bounty hunters showed up?" Luffy asked. "And I _missed_ it? Darn it!"

"It wasn't bounty hunters," Vivi said slowly. "It was much, much worse."

"Did the Marines show up?" Zoro asked, a hand on one of his swords. "Or Baroque Works?"

"Even worse than that!" Vivi continued.

"What's worse than the Marines, Baroque Works, or New World bounty hunters?" Nami asked. It must have been bad, if it was enough to make them abandon the Going Merry.

Vivi and Usopp looked at each other before yelling, "A ZOMBIE!"

"A ZOMBIE?!" the Straw Hats yelled back.

"I told you this place was haunted! I told you so!" Usopp said, his legs knocking together furiously. He was on the verge of a panic attack. "But did you listen to me? Does anyone _ever_ listen to me?!"

"We went into the jungle because we thought it might be one of Mr. Roronoa's crewmates, but then it just appeared!" Vivi explained. "It was awful! I didn't think zombies existed, but now-!"

"A real live zombie?' Chopper said. "That's medically impossible! This is an amazing discovery! Totally scary, but amazing!"

"A zombie?" Luffy repeated with a large grin. "Awesome! Was he a musician?"

Nami grabbed Luffy by the ear and hollered, "A ZOMBIE IS NOT JOINING OUR CREW!"

"But Zoro said if the zombie happened to be a musician, we could take him into consideration!" Luffy whined, rubbing his ear.

"If Mosshead said it was okay, then we're definitely not doing it!" Sanji shouted. He held Vivi close. "Besides, that zombie assaulted my precious Vivi-chwan! If I see it, I'm sending it back to the grave!"

Vivi looked up at Sanji, then gently pushed him away. He remained standing close to her though.

"It attacked Usopp too," Zoro pointed out.

Carue quacked loudly. Everyone was forgetting about him again.

"It technically didn't attack us," Usopp admitted. "We made a break for it before it could."

"See? It didn't attack them!" Luffy said happily. "So now we can ask it to join our crew! What do you think, Zoro-ossan?"

Roronoa was standing off to the side, trying rub away an oncoming headache through his temples.

"Zoro-ossan?" Luffy said again, only more quizzically.

"Zombies," Roronoa muttered. "Brilliant. For once, I'd love to come to an island enshrouded with fog without there being zombies involved."

"Wait, you mean you've encountered zombies before?" Nami asked.

"Unfortunately," he replied. "Let's just say it wasn't a good day and leave it at that."

Zoro was mildly surprised. He'd said it would be interesting to fight zombies back when they first entered the fog. He didn't actually think he would ever get the chance to do so for real. Though, Roronoa didn't sound to thrilled...

"Then you should know all about defeating them!" Usopp said hopefully.

"Please tell us how, Mr. Roronoa!" Vivi pleaded. "I want that thing gone. Not it only was it really scary, it was completely perverted! Who does it think it is, asking me such an inappropriate question?!"

Roronoa stopped rubbing his temples. "Pardon?"

"The zombie was a pervert as well?!" Sanji gasped. "Vivi-chwan, I swear I will find this zombie and kick it so hard it'll wish it was still alive just so it could die again!"

"I don't get it," Chopper said. "How can zombies be perverts? Even if they can move around, their ability for higher thinking would be heavily impaired due to rotting brain tissue."

"You've actually_ thought_ about this?" Zoro asked the little reindeer.

"Uh, Vivi?" Roronoa broke in, stepping in front of the princess. "May I ask you a couple questions?"

"Oh, uh... of course," Vivi agreed. "What are they?"

"This zombie. By any chance was he more of a skeleton than an actual zombie?"

"Yes, he was! He didn't have any flesh whatsoever!"

"Was he dressed in really flashy clothing?"

"Um, I guess? The feather boa was a little much."

"Did he have an afro?"

"He did! But how did you know?"

Luffy's eyes widened. "The zombie has an _afro_ too?" He chuckled gleefully. "Shishishi, that's so cool! Now I really want it to join the crew!"

"What does it having a stupid afro have to do with anything?!" Nami shouted.

"Hey, never disrespect an afro!" Usopp declared. He crossed his arms. "It's a widely known fact afros hold untold power. This zombie will be quite the adversary indeed."

"Really?" Chopper asked. "I've never heard of such a thing!"

Zoro sweatdropped. This conversation only got weirder and weirder.

"Last question," Roronoa continued, ignoring the afro discussion. "That inappropriate thing he asked you; by any chance was it if he could see your, ah..." He looked away, rubbing his neck. "...panties?"

Roronoa other hand flew up immediately after he said this, just in time to once again catch Sanji's foot.

"Damn it, Roronoa!" Sanji ground out, nearly biting his cigarette in half. "Let me kick you for crying out loud!"

"Stop being so predictable, and _maybe_ I'll let you," Roronoa deadpanned, pushing the offending foot away.

Sanji stumbled a bit, but quickly regained his footing. "Apologize for saying such a crude thing to Vivi, you clod!"

"Hey, the skeleton was the one who originally said it, not me," the elder swordsman shrugged. He turned back to Vivi. "Well, was that his question?"

Vivi and Usopp stared at Roronoa, gaping and looking very much like fish. How did he _know_ that was the question it asked? It was a totally random and unpredictable question!

"I'm going to take your dumbfounded expressions as a yes," Roronoa said. He sighed and facepalmed. "That _idiot_. Way to make a first impression..."

"Zoro-ossan, do you know this talking afro-zombie?" Luffy asked. "He sounds really interesting!"

"A perverted zombie isn't interesting!" Nami argued. She turned to Roronoa. "But seriously; _do_ you know this zombie?"

"I do, unfortunately," Roronoa sighed again. "Sorry about him asking that question; it's kind of a habit of his no amount of knocks to the head will break. You see-" He froze mid-sentence, and absently cocked his ear up a little.

"Roronoa?" Nami asked.

Roronoa's eye widened. He lept forward, knocking the crew away. "GET DOWN!"

Not a second later, the sand where the Straw Hats had previously been standing exploded. Several areas of the beach nearby exploded as well. It was only due to Roronoa's reflexes that they were pushed out of the way in time and avoided being blown to smithereens.

Roronoa jumped to his feet and drew two of his swords; Kitetsu and the black one (he said during breakfast it was called Shusui). Now that the Straw Hats were paying attention, they could see what had caused the explosion. Something was firing cannonballs at them.

As cannonballs got close, Roronoa effortlessly sliced them in two and the remaining halves went flying into the woods, exploding harmlessly. Now that he knew what he was up against, Luffy got up as well and joined his future swordsman's side.

"Gum Gum..." Luffy began, inhaling deeply. "_Balloon!_"

Luffy's body inflated until he was indeed as fat and round as a balloon. The cannonballs that hit him were immediately sent flying back in the direction they came.

"Where are these coming from?!" Sanji shouted. He was still on the ground, shielding Nami with his body. Carue had Vivi and Chopper covered. Zoro jumped to his feet as well and joined his older self and Luffy in deflecting cannon fire.

Usopp stood up as far as he dared and lowered one of his goggles' lenses. After a moment or two, he spotted the source of the cannonballs.

"Over there, beyond that cove!" Usopp announced, pointing at said cove.

And just in time too. The cannonballs ceased as a large ship emerged from around the cove, sailing perfectly despite the shallow waters.

It was an incredibly large ship; about the size of the average galleon. The upper exterior of the ship was covered in thick steel plates, most likely for protection, and the figurehead resembled a snarling ape. Cannons lined the rails, and the people manning them looked downright sadistic. On the sails and flag, there was a jolly roger that resembled a broken skull. Printed next to the broken skull was the image of a gun.

Geez, why not just paint the words WE KILL PIRATES in big honking letters on the sails? It wouldn't be half as obvious.

Sanji helped the girls and Chopper up, then they along with Usopp ran up to join Luffy (who had deflated) and the swordsmen.

Roronoa snarled. "I recognize that flag. This is the ship that was chasing us when we got caught in that current."

"T-They're bounty h-hunters?" Usopp stuttered. "From t-the New W-World?"

"Zoro-ossan," Luffy said softly. He cracked his knuckles. "Can we fight them?"

"I haven't decided yet," Roronoa replied softly, only his soft voice had a dangerous edge to it. "Give me a minute to see what we're up against."

"My first fight as a real pirate," Chopper whispered excitedly. He looked up at Usopp. "What should I do to help?"

Usopp gulped and pulled out his slingshot. "I'll tell you as soon as I figure it out myself."

Sanji shushed them. The ship was approaching.

As the ship got closer to the shore, large grappling hooks were fired from the figurehead's mouth, latching on to the trees in the jungle behind the crew. The loud cranking sound that followed revealed that the ship was being dragged closer to the beach. It wasn't long before the giant ship was partially on the pink sand, and someone was standing on top of the figurehead. The ship was so big that the crew was forced to look straight up to see whoever it was standing there.

It was an extremely muscular man with a shaved head and way too many tattoos. He had a broad ax slung across his back, and brass knuckles on each hand. He smiled smugly down at the pirates.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Tattoos asked sardonically, yelling down to them. "We were given orders to find a pirate ship, and instead we come across the actual pirates. What luck."

Zoro grit his teeth. So these clowns were actually looking for them, huh?

A man carrying papers walked up next to Tattoos on the figurehead. "We've identified most of them, sir."

"Good," Tattoos said with a nod. "Read them off."

The lackey nodded and started by pointing at Luffy. "We have 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy..."

Luffy grinned. He loved his epithet.

The lackey pointed at Roronoa. "...'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro..."

Zoro glanced at his older self. His pirate epithet was _pirate hunter_? Would that title haunt him forever?

Nami was pointed at next. "...'Cat Burglar' Nami..."

The navigator's hands flew to her face. "Not me too!"

Next was Chopper. "...'Cotton Candy Loving' Chopper, their pet..."

Chopper's jaw dropped. "I'm their... _pet_?"

Sanji and Usopp snickered at the cutesy epithet.

The lackey gestured towards Vivi and Carue. "...some blue-haired girl and her duck..."

Vivi breathed a sigh of relief. If she didn't have epithet, she didn't have a bounty. Then she realized that the fact the others had epithets meant they _did_ have bounties. Oh dear...

Usopp came up next. The lackey stared hard at the piece of paper he was holding. "...I'm not entirely sure who that guy is, but going off the nose, I'm assuming he's 'King of the Snipers' Sniper King without his mask on..."

Usopp's eyes widened. In the future, he was referred to as the _King_ of the Snipers?

The lackey finally got to Sanji, who actually looked excited to hear what his epithet was. However, the lackey gave the cook a blank stare.

"Something wrong?" Tattoos asked.

"...I have no idea who this dude is," the bounty hunter lackey admitted.

Sanji looked like he'd been punched in the stomach. The stooge knew who everyone else was; even the reindeer! Had that been the reason Roronoa laughed so hard? He was the only one without a bounty?

Tattoos took the paper from his colleague and examined it. "Hmm... well, he could be 'Black Leg' Sanji. They have the same curly eyebrow."

Sanji perked up considerably.

The lackey raised an eyebrow at the paper. "If that's true, then the Navy really needs to update his photo. Or at least find someone who's a better artist."

Roronoa made a quick snort that sounded like an attempt to hold back a laugh. And a bad one at that. Sanji vowed that orders or no orders, he would see what was so funny about his poster.

The lackey then automatically gestured toward Zoro. "And lastly, we have... Roronoa Zoro?"

"You counted him already," Tattoos pointed out.

"No sir, there's two of him."

At those words, the other men on deck crowded to the front the ship so they too could see the second Roronoa Zoro. It seemed each man had something to say.

"Whoa, they look so much alike!"

"Nah, the first one Charlie pointed out looks older."

"They both even have three swords!"

"I didn't know the Pirate Hunter had a little brother!"

"THAT GUY IS _NOT_ MY BROTHER!" Zoro hollered, waving his swords threateningly.

"THAT WAS RIGHT IN MY EAR, YOU DOLT!" Nami hollered back, punching him the head.

Tattoos shrugged and hefted his ax off his back. "Whatever. Brother or not, we're flexible. Although I don't see Devil Child, Cyborg, or Humming Swordsman here, there is still a good 643,000,050 berris worth in bounty before me." He pointed his ax at Luffy. "Hope you don't mind if we collect it, Straw Hat."

Luffy punched his fist into his hand. "We'd like to see you try it, Tattoo guy!"

"No, we wouldn't!" Usopp, Nami, and Vivi argued.

"I'll protect you, Nami-swan and Vivi-chwan!" Sanji cooed.

"What about me?!" Usopp shouted at him.

"Eh, you'll be fine."

"I'll do my best Luffy!" Chopper said with a salute. "I'll show them I'm not a pet!"

"Finally, some action," Zoro grinned.

"Oi!" Roronoa interrupted. "You promised no fighting unless I gave the okay, so settle down!"

The meeker Straw Hats were more than happy to comply, but the more hardheaded ones (Luffy and Zoro) looked ready to start throwing punches. Sanji was too busy doting on the girls to form any solid opinion on the matter.

"Good!" Tattoos laughed. "I like my targets to have attitude and guts! I promised everyone else on this boat free reign with your crew. so you're getting a fight whether you want it or not. Our boss is gonna promote us for bringing in the infamous Straw Hat Pirates along with the treasure of Kāla!

Nami's eyes became berri signs. "Treasure?"

_Kāla?_ Vivi thought. _Is that the name of this island? It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it_...

"Oi, Straw Hat!" one of the bounty hunters on the ship's deck shouted down.

"Yeah?!" Luffy answered.

"Don't answer him!" Usopp loud-whispered.

"I have a cousin in the Navy!" he shouted. "He said he saw you at Marineford!"

Since everyone was now paying attention to that lowly bounty hunter, they failed to notice the steely gaze reappear in Roronoa's eye, as well as his forming snarl.

"Marineford?" Luffy asked, confused.

"That's where Navy Headquarters is," Vivi explained. "It's right next to the holy land, Mariejois."

"And Mariejois is where the main base of the World Government is," Nami added.

Luffy nodded. "Ah, I see."

(This was Luffy for "I don't really get it, but I'll pretend I do.")

"So your cousin saw our crappy captain there," Sanji called up. This new subject was enough to pull him away from the girls, if but for a moment. "So what?"

The bounty grinned maliciously down at the rubber boy. "He wanted me to tell you: "It was a nice effort, but you missed a spot!""

For some reason, this sent many of the ship's bounty hunters into spiels of laughter, as if it were the funniest thing on the planet. Luffy didn't get it, of course. It was a mystery future thing; he could tell you that much. He didn't want to know what it meant because of that. Most aspects of his future adventures he wanted to be a surprise. It was bad enough these guys spoiled his crew's future epithets for them; seeing what name you got on the wanted poster was half the fun!

He was about to tell them so, when the ship- which, I'll remind you, was a galleon- suddenly split in half.

* * *

There was no warning or anything; one second the ship was in one piece and the bounty hunters were laughing, the next it was in two pieces and the crew was screaming (especially those who got cut up along with the ship). Pieces of the ship went flying into the water or fell into the jungle (depending how far down on the sand that the part of the ship in question was), along with a good number of the bounty hunters. Tattoos and many others jumped off and onto beach just as the ship collapsed completely. Sadly (not), many of the bounty hunters did not make it off in time.

The pirates and princess stared at the scene before them in shock and awe.

"Uh... what just happened?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"Good question," Nami said slowly, gaping.

Chopper pointed a hoof at what the part of the ship remained; the point where it split. "Look at that! It's like it's been cut by a giant knife or something!"

"No way..." Sanji said. Memories of the day Don Krieg attacked the Baratie came flooding into his mind. "It's like that one time..."

"What one time?" Vivi asked.

"I once saw Hawkeye Mihawk cut this huge galleon in half with only a sword," the chef explained. "It looked just like this."

"But... how?!" Vivi went on. "Not only was it this giant ship, it had steel plates on the upper exterior! Who can cut steel that easily?!"

Zoro's mouth had gone dry at sight of the demolished ship. Cutting a ship that big... and cutting through steel as well... these both were things he was not capable of, but he had no doubt Mihawk could do quite easily. But since the greatest swordsman in the world (at the moment) couldn't be possibly be on this island, who did that leave who could have done the deed?

"Hey guys?" Luffy spoke up, though he was still marveling at the destroyed galleon. "Where'd Zoro-ossan go?"

That was another good question. The future swordsman was nowhere in sight. Then all of sudden, Carue began quacking and pointing his wing to the side. When they looked in the direction the duck was gesturing to, that was when they found Roronoa.

Roronoa was now a little farther down the beach. If the ship wasn't cut up and no longer on the beach all that much, he would have been on the other side of it. He had his back to the crew, and was slowly sliding Shusui back into its sheathe.

_It was him. He was the one who cut the ship_, Zoro thought. _I can't even cut steel-hard wax right now, much less cut a galleon in half. But this guy... have I really grown so much in just two years? It's almost as if..._

Zoro's heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that in the future... he was already...?

"Wow," Chopper whispered, interrupting the swordsman's thoughts. He looked up at Zoro admiringly. "You. Are. So. Cool!"

Zoro looked down at the reindeer. Just earlier that morning, Chopper had been as afraid of him as ever. Now all of sudden, because of something Zoro's_ older self_ did, he was cool? What a weird little guy.

Roronoa turned and gave the surviving bounty hunters (there was still a good number of them) a snide grin.

"Sorry about that," he pretended to apologize. "Your ugly ship was starting to bug me, so I decided I didn't want to look at it anymore. I hope I haven't inconvenienced you too badly."

Tattoos was seething with rage. He raised his ax. "You'll pay for that, Pirate Hunter. Nobody screws with the Carrion Bounty Hunters and gets away with it!" He pointed a finger at Roronoa. "KILL HIM!"

The bounty hunters charged with their respective weapons, but Roronoa was ready for them. He turned away and quickly drew all three of his swords, placing the white one in his mouth.

"_Rengoku..._" he said, crossing his swords in front of himself.

Faster than you could blink, he turned back around and lept forward towards the rushing bounty hunters. He cut through them, leaving x-shaped slashes of blood in his wake.

"._..Oni Giri!_" the elder swordsman finished.

Many bounty hunters fell, but their still-standing comrades did nothing to aide them. Instead they chose to try another attack at Roronoa.

Roronoa waited until they got close before making his next move.

"_Kokujo: O Tatsumaki!_"

The crew had seen their Zoro do this technique before, but never on this scale. The spinning motion accompanied with Roronoa's swords actually created a giant twister. Hunters screamed and bled as they were sent flying into the air, their weapons shattering from the cyclone of slashes.

"AWESOME!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper cheered.

"He's a monster..." Nami whispered.

Vivi nodded in agreement.

"That's our mosshead; reckless to a fault," Sanji commented. If Zoro didn't know any better, he would said the cook sounded almost impressed.

Tattoos was not amused, however. He jumped at Zoro, heaving his ax down towards the swordsman's head. Roronoa guarded in time, and for the briefest of moments, the two were at a stalemate.

"Ah," Tattoos noted, pressing his ax down hard. "You have Haki, don't you?"

Roronoa gave his signature shark grin around the sword hilt in his mouth. "Didn't think it'd be that obvious."

Tattoos smirked. "Several of our boss's higher ups can use it adeptly. I'd recognize another user anywhere."

"Good to know."

The dueling men managed to push the other off; Tattoos back towards his remaining men, and Roronoa back towards the Straw Hats. The clouds that had been blocking the sun got thicker, and it got darker. Some of the mist that had been forming in the jungle had leaked out on to the beach and water.

"Zoro-ossan!" Luffy said once Roronoa back next to them again. "That was amazing! You've gotten so much stronger!"

Roronoa gave him a smile. "I appreciate the compliment, captain."

"So, can we fight?"

"How did I know you were going to ask me that?" Roronoa closed his eye for a second, then it opened it again. "I think you should be able to handle the cronies. Just leave Tattoo guy to me."

Luffy cheered, and the other began to take battle stances. Nami assembled her bo-staff, Vivi pulled out her Peacock slashers, and Usopp aimed (with shaking hands) his slingshot. Chopper had a Rumble Ball ready, Sanji lifted his leg into kicking position, and Zoro pulled out his own three swords.

"Ready?" Roronoa asked his captain.

Luffy nodded. "Yosh."

Tattoo guy lifted his ax again and addressed his men. "I don't care if their bounties drop thirty percent; I want them all pushing up daisies, you hear?!"

"Yes sir!" the bounty hunters chorused.

It was a stand off, with both sides ready to throw the first attack. And they would have too, if it weren't for a sudden shout of:

"Yohohoho! Zoro-san!"

Vivi and Usopp went rigid. They knew that voice.

The bounty hunters parted as they turned to look at the speaker, and the Straw Hats could clearly see the flashily-dressed skeleton standing behind their opponents.

"That's it!" Usopp shouted. "That's the zombie!"

"How did it find us already?!" Vivi cried out. "And how did it get over there?!"

Nami's eyes widened in fear. "No way... it's real?"

Chopper's medical side immediately began to mentally label all the bones visible to him, although he was shaking like a leaf.

Zoro's eyes widened. This was... this just wasn't natural.

Sanji's expression was halfway between terrified and pissed. Terrified of the walking, talking skeleton, and pissed that this was the same crappy pervert who asked to see Vivi-chwan's underwear.

"He really does have an afro!" Luffy said with zeal. "He's a real skeleton with an real afro! This is so amazing! Think he'll join the crew if we ask?"

"NO!" his crew shouted at him.

The skeleton began walking through the crowd of bounty hunters, calmly swinging around a dark purple cane. If it concerned him to be walking through a group of bounty hunters, you couldn't see it on his skeletal face.

"Is that a skeleton?" one hunter said.

"No way, it has to be a mask," another argued.

"Skeletons can't walk. They're dead."

"Hey, isn't he the Soul King? My sister has all his tone dials!"

"There you are, Zoro-san," the skeleton said conversationally, ignoring the bounty hunters. "I've been looking all over for you. Imagine my surprise when I turned and you had simply vanished. It was quite a shock to my old heart... well, not that I have a heart anymore. Yohohoho, skull joke!"

Roronoa rolled his eyes and re-sheathed all of his swords. He wasn't afraid of the skeleton in the least. If anything, he looked annoyed. "You're the one who got lost, not me. Where have you been all this time? Is anyone else with you?"

"Sadly, no," the skeleton replied, coming to a stop in front of the bounty hunters. "I've been wandering the jungle in search of the crew and the Sunny. I did see Usopp-san, but he ran for some reason." The skeleton then noticed the rest of the Straw Hats. "Oh, you've already found everyone! What a relief! Though I don't see Robin-san or Franky-san anywhere."

Roronoa casually stepped in front of his younger self, hiding him from view. "Yeah, I may have to explain a few things. The situation's a lot more complicated than you know."

"You don't say?"

"Um, Zoro-ossan?" Luffy piped up. "Can we fight now? Just standing here is boring."

The annoyed expression was back in full force on Roronoa's face. "There's no need to now."

"What do you mean there's no need to?!" Tattoos shouted. "We still need to collect your bounties, and we're more than ready to battle you all for them."

"There's no need to because you gentleman had already been defeated," the skeleton answered simply.

"Eh?" Tattoos grunted.

The mist surrounding them suddenly grew colder, sinking into everyone's pores and chilling them from the inside out.

"This chill," Nami shivered. "I didn't sense a change in atmosphere. This isn't coming from wind or anything."

The skeleton held up a sword and a section of his cane. The crew could now see they had been one and the same. But it begged the question; when did he draw it?

Roronoa smirked. "He can be such a show-off."

Luffy and his crew looked between Roronoa and the afro creature before them. Just who or what was this new guy?

The skeleton began re-sheathing his blade, speaking to the hunters. "You've lost because I've already cut you. _Pastoral Song..._"

All of the bounty hunters stiffened. Frost began to form on their bodies.

The sword slammed back into its sheathe."._..Blizzard Slash!_"

Long cuts appeared out of nowhere on the hunters' bodies, but they carried no blood. Only thick ice came bursting from these wounds, and all at once, the hunters fell to the sandy ground. The skeleton spun his cane and planted the bottom of it into the ground.

"The cold you feel is the chill of the underworld," he said icily. "Remember it well the next time you contemplate threatening my_ nakama._"

That last word echoed in the Straw Hats' ears.

_His_ nakama?

"Nicely done, Brook," Roronoa said, walking up to the skeleton. "Personally, I wanted a crack at some of them, but there's no use crying over spilled milk. Now, come on. You have a lot to catch up on."

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**Next Time:**

**Not saying! You got an extra-long chapter! Be satisfied!**


	9. Intermission

**Sorry this isn't a chapter. I haven't been able to work on it of late due to school and other distractions. But my spring break starts up next week, so I should be able to work on it then. (You know, assuming I'm not too out of it from getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I'm not looking forward to that. However, for some weird reason I was born with only three wisdom teeth instead of four, so it won't be as bad.)**

**So in the meantime, I created this. One of my reviewers said he/she had a hard remembering who was who with the bounty hunters, so ****in case you've lost track, here's a quick list of who they are, where they are, and what you should already know about them:**

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**Boss: **The leader of the bounty hunting group. He's only had one scene, so everything about him is still a mystery. What we do know is he used to be in the Navy, and believes locating the treasure Kāla holds is his ticket back in. We don't know why he is now a bounty hunter. but it may have to do with him being laughed at in the Navy. He has an unusual habit of saying one thing, then doing the exact opposite not even a second later. Siobhan calls him "Boss," as she does not know his name.

It can be assumed he is located in the bounty hunter's camp.

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**Yari (YAR-RI): **The female member of the "Creepy Duo," Yari is described as a goth Lolita. She is the group's female swordsman. She carries her sword hidden in the handle of her parasol, and is adept in using it. As stated by Erity, she has Kenbunshoku (Observation) Haki. Whether or not she knows the other types is unknown. She also has the power of the Nerve Nerve Fruit. So far she has only used it to increase the intensity of pain, so other uses remain to be seen. She also likes to say whether or not a person would make a good "doll." How she goes about making someone her doll has yet to be revealed. She seems to like fighting, is not shown to be particularly bright despite being the "brains" of the operation (12 TIMES. SERIOUSLY?), and often acts smarter and more knowledgeable than she actually is. She also appears to have not had a happy childhood, given she fell into a depression when Erity brought it up.

She is currently located in the jungle somewhere with Erity.

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**Runo(RUE-NOH): **The male member of the "Creepy Duo," Runo is described as having a feral appearance. He has no preferred style of fighting, but does well with hand-to-hand combat and firearms. He is triple-jointed, and as stated by Erity, has Kenbunshoku (Observation) Haki. Whether or not he knows the other types is unknown. He also has the power of the Hypno Hypno Fruit. So far he has only used it to put several subordinates into a obedient trance, so other uses remain to be seen. He likes to refer to his hypnotized victims as his "toys." He likes to taunt people and point out their flaws. He seems to enjoy fighting, and believes anyone who is too weak deserves whatever horrible fate finds them. He is not shown to be particularly bright despite being the "brains" of the operation (12 TIMES. _12 TIMES_), and also appears to have not had a happy childhood, given he fell into a depression when Erity brought it up. He also get depressed if someone steals his thunder.

He was in the jungle somewhere with Erity and Yari, but is currently on his way back to camp.

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**Erity (AIR-IT-TEE):** Erity is the second female of the group. She is described as having a mohawk, but no other details have been given about her appearance. Whatever fighting abilities she has have yet to be revealed. Going off Tattoos' revelations, it can be assumed she knows Haki, but it's still unclear. She is shown to complain a lot and is easily irritated, usually by either Vaughan or the Creepy Duo. She has noted that she loves bounty hunting, but would never turn in her "queen's" bounty. Siobhan's nickname for her is "Mohawk New Woman." The reason for the "new woman" part is unknown.

She is in the jungle somewhere with Yari.

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**Vaughan (VAWN):** The bounty hunter with the second fewest scenes, much is still unknown about him. He is described as having red-colored eyes and has been called a "vampire" by Runo (he's not one. Yari checked), but nothing else is known about his appearance. He is somewhat passive, sarcastic, lazy, and seems the least motivated out of the group. He does not appear to like his boss, given he didn't really protest Siobhan biting him five times. He does show great deductive ability, seeing how he was able to guess what Siobhan meant by how "more of the same" were coming. He has sniper skills, and he says he has devil fruit powers. As to which devil fruit it is remains unknown. It can be assumed he knows Haki, but which forms have yet to be revealed. Siobhan's nickname for him is "Blood Eyes."

He is back at camp, guarding Siobhan.

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**And lastly, though not a bounty hunter, we address:**

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**Siobhan (SHI-VAUN):** A young girl who apparently lives on Kāla, she was captured by Boss and his group some time after they arrived. She does not appear to know of the World Government or the Marines. She is in tune with the Fog, and is able to detect when outsiders pass through it. Not much is known about her personality, but she has a habit of giving people nicknames based on their physical traits. She also shows a snarky, sarcastic side, and usually likes it when visitors come to the island. She knows something about the island's treasure, but whatever it is, she isn't talking. According to Vaughan, devil fruit abilities don't have any effect on her (whatever that means). She is most likely the "brat" Roronoa encountered before he fought Yari.

She is currently trapped in a cage back at the bounty hunter camp.

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**Everything clear for now? Good. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible.**


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